Of Twists & Turns
by blossom-M
Summary: Hinata's life takes a turn when her father tells her about plans of marrying her with a much richer family than them. She then meets Naruto, the school's rebel in which she starts to develop feelings. Strange creatures start appearing and she soon finds herself in a world she never thought existed. M for sexual themes, violence, etc...
1. Chapter 1: Of Virtues and Life

Chapter 1: Of virtues and life

It was cloudy in the summer morning of September. Groups of teens walked all together into a tall building where they would be well received by men dressed in a certain type of uniform. Those were the ones who guarded the building. Everyone greeted each other cheerfully. The atmosphere around was youthful and joyful.

The classes at Konoha High had started around a month ago. While some students were full of excitement, others were still bummed as they passed the front gates of the school being reminded of another semester full of work and drama. But nonetheless, the front gates of Konoha High were always admired by even the most rebellious students that hated school. Not only did the front of the school give a good impression; for there were a lot of freshmen complimenting the landscape as they entered. A group of girls admired the garden full of flowers with a variety of colors; despite the day being gloomy.

For some reason, everyone stopped on their tracks and looked behind them to see a large black car stop at the front of the school. The group of girls who were admiring the garden quickly rushed into the front of the school to see the person that had arrived, completely forgetting about the garden.

"Sasuke-kun!" The girls screamed as they saw a handsome tall man stepping out of the vehicle. With elegance, he took his bag full of books. With a cold gaze, he walked in between the group of girls who were trying to drag his attention. Not once did he bother to look at any of them, nor did he have the slightest intention of greeting anyone. As he made his way to the building, he managed to listen to a certain group of guys murmuring into each other's ears about how much of an arrogant he was. Maybe they were right, he always thought about how his attitude irritated many of his classmates; except the girls of course. But for him it was of no importance listening to other people's concerns.

Just as he didn't care about the weather being so gloomy that day, he didn't care what others thought about him. He only cared about himself in the most selfish matter.

A girl with dark long watched the whole scene with amusement. She wasn't surprised about the fact of seeing so many girls forming a group to receive the handsomest boy in the school. She was astonished of the way he had ignored the entire group, and how he didn't even bother to greet the others. It was no wonder that her friend Kiba was always talking about him. Not in a good way of course. She guessed that he was jealous of him as well, but there was only one thing she had agreed with Kiba.

_He is the most stubborn and ungrateful person I've ever met in the world._ She thought of her friend's words. _Even though he has money, he looks at the entire world as if we were a big bunch of monkeys. I can't recall the time he ever said thank you to anyone. _

Maybe her friend Kiba was jealous of Sasuke after all, but he was right about him not ever being grateful to anyone. She too came from a wealthy family. But the only few people who knew how wealthy she is where her closest friends. But nonetheless, she had nothing against Sasuke Uchiha but just the wish of him of realizing the many blessings he had around him.

"Hinata!" A tall girl with short pink hair said as she waved at her.

"Good morning Sakura-san," Hinata said smiling at her friend.

"Ready for the Calculus test today?" Sakura said.

"Don't mention it big forehead." Both Hinata and Sakura turned to see Ino approaching them with a not so pleasant expression.

"Let me guess," Sakura said. "You were up all night watching 'The Misfortunes of Sally Stewart' and forgot about the test today."

"Yes in fact I was." Ino girl said smiling ironically. "Besides, I never understood the topic. The teacher didn't even give us enough time to study…"

"Ino-pig he did." Sakura said glaring at Ino. "He gave us three weeks. I think that is enough time to finish watching your series."

"But it was the season finale!" Ino said. "Look, whatever. I'll just copy from you're test."

"No you will not! I studied hard for this test; you have no idea how much. So it's not my responsibility whether you fail or not."

"Wow what a great friend you are big forehead." Ino said sarcastically. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked at Hinata.

"I-Ino-san," Hinata said quietly. "I-I can tutor you before the test…"

"And do you guarantee I won't fail?"

"Ino!"

"What? I at least want to start my semester with good grades. Last year my grades were awful." Ino said as she pulled out a cherry lollipop from her bag and popped it into her mouth. The guys that were passing by her looked at her with a blush on their cheeks and sighing at the way she sucked the lollipop.

Ino was considered one of the most beautiful girls in the school. Her long blonde hair, in which she would usually tie it in a pony tail, would drag everyone's attention by how rich and healthy it looked. Most of the guys would drool for her as she would walk by them. Her body was one to die for, and her flirty personality would captivate any man's eyes. She had had several boyfriends, but none of which had been serious with her. She would always look for Hinata and Sakura to console her whenever one of her boyfriends would break up with her. But in a way, she would still get back up and keep moving forward for she had a very positive personality that Hinata always admired from her.

Unlike Ino, Sakura was considered as a beautiful girl as well, but most guys were scared of her personality. Whenever she felt that a guy would try to make a move on her, she would use her tough attitude and scare him away. In a way, Hinata liked it because she would scare the stalkers that would follow them whenever they went out to the mall. But Sakura's attitude would sometimes scare Hinata a little bit. But nonetheless, the three of them had gotten close since freshman year. Sakura and Ino already knew each other since childhood and basically their personalities were very similar; except that Ino was flirtier and Sakura wasn't. They would always fight like sisters all the time, but Hinata knew how much they both cared for each other.

"I-It depends on you…" Hinata said to Ino, she raised her brow while noticing the guys that were drooling over her friend. "I can help you out, but you have to put your effort in it."

"If it helps… then I can lend you my notebook so that you can get an example of the exercises." Sakura said while trying look as though she didn't care; trying to show some arrogance in her voice which did not work at all. She was naturally always helpful to others… only if they deserved it.

"Alright, I will!" Ino said cheerfully. She suddenly wrapped each of her arms on top of her friend's shoulders, dragging them into a big bear hug while walking toward their classroom.

"I knew I could count on the two of you!"

"Yeah yeah… Now let us go you pig, we're suffocating here…" Sakura said forcing her voice due to the lack of oxygen.

"Oops!" Ino quickly took her arms off each of them while giggling in the girly way she always did. "We'll group up after second period."

"Group up, for what?" A guy with tan skin said, approaching them as he grinned.

"None of your business buddy." Ino said glaring at him.

"Oh really, then Hinata, is it okay if I 'group up' with you too?" That made said girl blush furiously and hide her red cheeks by looking at the floor.

"That is the lamest joke that you've said right after the first one you told us when we met you," Ino said while crossing both of her arms. "Let's face it Kiba, you ain't funny!"

"Well, at least I try." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"What are you doing here anyway? This isn't your homeroom."

"You don't need to remind me, I came here to talk to Hinata." Kiba said getting near Hinata.

"Oohhh… Are you finally going to ask her out?" Ino said.

"Well, only if Hinata accepts." Kiba said winking at said girl, making her face go completely red. He always liked teasing her like that.

Kiba liked teasing Hinata since childhood. In a way, everybody suspected that he had a crush on her; but it was very difficult to see whether he did or not since they were both best friends. Whenever someone would ask him about his feelings for Hinata, he would always say something that would leave them confused; he knew how to defend himself from others really well. But Hinata never once saw him as more than just a friend. Shino was the other guy that the two of them had spent their childhood together. The three of them were always together. They were the only two guys that Hinata wouldn't get so nervous around. They were basically her older brothers.

Kiba noticed how red her face was so he changed his expression into a serious one. "But seriously though, we need to talk." Hinata nodded and Kiba made the gesture that he wanted to talk alone outside. Hinata then followed him out of the classroom.

"S-So what is it that you want to talk about?" Hinata said shyly. Kiba smirked at her expression.

_Same ol' Hina_. Kiba thought as he then ran a hand in between a piece of her hair that was on her front shoulder. It was the little things that he did, that even though Hinata thought of him as a brother and as her best friend, it would make her nervous sometimes.

"Has your father talked to you?" He said taking his hand off her hair.

"N-No… Why?" Kiba then looked at her. She could see that there was something going on whenever her friend looked at her with such a serious expression; normally he was always joking and smiling.

"I don't think this is the right time to tell you… But you have a right to know..."

"About what?" And as soon as Kiba was about to answer her question, he felt a sudden dark aura in his back, making him shiver and feel goose bumps run all over his arms.

_I'm dead._ Kiba thought as he feared the worst about to happen.

"Hinata-sama, may I know why is Kiba so close to you?"

"Neji-nissan…" Hinata said as she left Kiba's side and went to greet her cousin.

"Hey man, I was only talking to her." Kiba said raising his hands as if he were about to get arrested. "There's nothing to be worried about, besides she's my friend, we hangout all the time."

"Yes, but it doesn't mean I have let my guard down." Neji said glaring at him.

"As if I'll ever do anything to her," Kiba said, and now he really did feel like mocking him. "You know, Hinata is a full grown woman now… She doesn't need a bodyguard to be around her all the time."

"Well, when I see people like **you **surrounding her… It makes me think that something bad might happen to her." Neji said as he crossed his arms in his usual arrogant way. "It is when she mostly needs to be taken care of…"

"Of what," Kiba said starting to approach Neji in a dangerous way. He then grabbed Neji at his collar, pulling him close to his face. All the time, Neji never changed his expression. "A thug. Delinquent. Playboy?"

"Okay guys I think this is enough." A girl with two buns on the top of her head said as she separated the two of them. "Neji, we should go. Rock Lee is waiting for us in the class; remember we have a project to finish before the teacher comes in."

"Yeah, you better listen to your girlfriend. She clearly knows how much of a pussy you are to take on a **man**." It was then Neji's turn to grab Kiba tightly from his collar and pull him close to his face.

"What did you say?"

"N-Neji-nissan, please don't do anything to him…" Hinata said, fearing for the worst to happen. She knew how much her cousin over protected her; especially if there was a boy included. "H-He's only joking to mock you… You know K-Kiba-kun can be an idiot sometimes…"

"I said enough already." Ten Ten said grabbing Neji's arm and pulling him away from Kiba. "You can later deal with him **after **school. Not in the hallway where a teacher can see you."

Neji then took a deep breath to relax his shoulder.

"Fine… Inuzuka, I won't let my guard down on you." Neji said still looking at him as Ten Ten was still holding his arm, pulling him away as fast as possible.

"What just happened?" They turned around to see Sakura standing next to the door. She had been there all the time since the moment she heard Kiba's laughter and Neji's threat. "More like, what did you do now?"

"Me?" Kiba said pointing at himself. "I was only talking to Hinata. It's Neji that keeps coming out of nowhere thinking that I'll rape her."

They suddenly heard the three bells ringing; indicating that they needed to be at their seats already for the first period to start.

"Shit, now I'm late for Economy." Kiba said opening his eyes wide nervously. He then turned around to go. "Hinata, our conversation isn't over. There is something important that you should know." And with that said he rushed back to his classroom.

"Is he finally going to confess to you?" Sakura said, making Hinata jump at the sudden question.

"S-Sakura-san, n-not you too!"

"What? He may be your childhood friend, but it seems as though you two spend too much time together." She said winking at her. "No wonder Neji gets jealous."

"H-He does not… He just gets a little concerned."

"Sure, whatever you say Hina." Sakura said smiling playfully at her.

As the two girls entered the class, Sakura couldn't help but look at Sasuke sitting at the left side of the classroom. He was always sitting in the corner where no one would disturb him. She, on the other side, had always wanted to sit next to him. But the first time she did, she tried to make conversation with him and all he said was that she was being annoying; which felt like a bucket full of ice cold water falling on top of her.

Sasuke seemed to notice that someone was looking at him so he turned to look at the person with his usual cold and serious gaze. Sakura noticed and quickly looked away.

It was no secret to Hinata about her friend having feelings for Sasuke. She had always made it obvious since the first time she met him. And as cute and as sweet as it looked like, Hinata couldn't help but feel bad for her friend; for she knew that Sasuke's pride would never let him lay eyes on her friend Sakura. Deep down, she still hoped that Sasuke's attitude could change and notice her friend.

The whole classroom sat down right when the teacher started calling for assistance. Only a few weren't present in the moment.

Since the teacher was passing next to Hinata, she heard him calling a certain name and making an unpleasant expression as he called him out. The person he had called wasn't present at the moment. But Hinata managed to hear the teacher whispering something about 'how troublesome he was for always being late'. She didn't exactly know who it was, but it seemed as though the student was very fond of Iruka.

And so the class started. Many were already asleep; some were throwing tiny papers at each other while others, like Hinata and Sakura, were actually paying attention to the lecture.

The lecture was suddenly interrupted by the door busting open roughly; making Hinata jump a little after being so silently concentrated. A blonde boy was then seen getting into the classroom as fast as he could. What caught Hinata's attention were the unusual three whisker marks at each cheek that he had. His tan skin was covered in sweat. His blonde hair was messy, and it looked wild the way he styled it. Wild in a good way; at least that's what Hinata thought.

"I'm here… I'm here…" He said in between each breath he took, breathing heavy.

"Naruto, you're late, again." He waited for him to catch his breath. "Unless there was an emergency with a relative, or a sudden death, then I would consider you free from detention… But if it's because you overslept again, then I have no choice but to-"

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said finally already relaxing his breathing, and interrupting the teacher. "I promise I'll get to school early from now on… But please, don't put me on detention again! It would be the tenth time this month!"

"And not to mention the twenty fifth time in less than two months…" As Iruka said this, the whole classroom was heard laughing. Some were giggling to themselves, trying to seem unnoticeable, while others were noticeably making fun of him by laughing. Even Sakura and Ino were giggling a little; except for Hinata. She was impressed by the way Naruto had had the courage to show up to class even though it was late; and that the teacher would scold him in front of the whole classroom. If it was her, she would've already died from embarrassment. She was sure Naruto would blush in embarrassment, but instead, he stood there not caring whether everyone was laughing at him or not. "I'm sorry to say this Naruto, but you get detention today…"

"But," Naruto said exasperated. "I'll miss the soccer tryouts!"

"Then you should've thought about it last night before going to sleep." Iruka said. "Now go and take a seat while I finish… what is left of the fifteen minutes of the lecture."

Iruka didn't mean to sound sarcastic, but even as he said that, the rest of the classroom was giggling again.

Naruto then proceeded to walk toward the first seat that he saw. All the time the whole classroom was looking at him. He then sat down next to Hinata.

When Hinata saw him walking toward the seat next to her, she had smiled a little to him, trying to show some kindness. But he didn't even noticed her, he was so mad at the moment that he didn't wanted to look at anyone.

Iruka then continued what was left of the lecture. But he suddenly stopped when he saw that Naruto had fallen asleep. Everyone knew that Iruka had made it clear that it was his number one rule to never fall asleep in his classroom; otherwise that student will suffer the consequences. He then grabbed the big Language Literature book he had on his desk and forcibly placed it on top of Naruto's desk; making him wake up surprised. He had fallen deeply asleep while he was seated, even though it wasn't the most comfortable position, for him it was like sitting on a big pillow.

"Uh… Wha…" Naruto said raising his head up and looking at Iruka with red eyes from the lack of sleep.

"Naruto," Iruka was about to scold him again, but he was soon interrupted by the bell ringing. "I'll see you at my desk in the teacher's lounge before you go to detention after school." Naruto was about to say something to defend himself, but he decided not to since it would only make matters worse.

Everyone quickly grabbed their stuff and left fast.

"Hey Hinata, don't forget about what you promised!" Ino said walking pass by her. "I'm counting on both you and Sakura."

"Sure do Ino-san… I'll help as much as I can… It is my pleasure to do so." Hinata said grabbing her bag and giving her friend a warm smile. Ino yelled back at her a 'thank you' and left the classroom fast. She sighed as she thought about her friend's foolish way of always saying something that would make everyone look at them; always causing the impression of a loud person since she was one.

Hinata then stopped on her tracks before leaving the room as her eyes were lost in two blue eyes. She then saw that those eyes belonged to Naruto, who had looked at the two girls upon the loud request. She saw him look away fast and taking his stuff with him as he exited the room; all the time he had an expression that said that he wasn't interested in anything else but to sleep.

* * *

"Man that test was hard!" Ino said as she sat down next to Sakura and Hinata inside the classroom. Sakura was battling with trying to open her juice while Hinata was silently eating her lunch box. "And that last exercise… It was impossible to do. Only a genius could solve it… I can't believe Kakashi-sensei would give us so little time for such a hard test…"

"That last exercise was the easiest problem of the whole test, Ino." Sakura said as she finally inserted her straw inside her juice. "Kakashi-sensei gave us that exercise to practice in his class… What were you doing during his class? Weren't paying attention?"

"Well… no… But you know math isn't my strongest subject."

"Neither as English, nor History, etc..."

"Oh shut up big forehead." Ino said standing up from her sit. "I do have a favorite subject that I am actually good at… And that is Physical Ed."

"Yeah because it doesn't involve any numbers or words…" Sakura said smiling. Hinata sighed as she saw her two friends arguing.

"Hey Hinata," Hinata heard as Kiba entered their classroom. "You got a minute?"

"S-Sure do Kiba-kun." Hinata said. Kiba indicated her that it had to be in privacy, so they had both left the classroom.

"Do you think he wants to confess to her?" Ino said, not caring if she was heard or not. Luckily Hinata did not manage to hear her, but the people that were close to her did.

"Who knows…? They've been best friends since little, and it's pretty obvious that Kiba does have feelings for her." Sakura said looking at them. "Even though Shino is always with Hinata as well, all he does is protect her as if she were his little sister; just like Neji… But Kiba on the other side, he gets over protective and sometimes even jealous…"

"Hey look," Ino said suddenly with a low voice. "Sasuke-kun was looking this way."

"Huh?" Sakura then blushed and looked at where Sasuke was sitting and all she could see is that he had on his usual serious expression. He was indeed looking at their way, but as he saw him notice him, he got up and left the classroom.

"I bet he was looking at me and not at you big forehead." Ino said as she gently pulled her fringe out of her eyes. "Maybe he finally realized that I am all he wants…"

"Oh, really… Then if he is interested in you, why did he leave instead of coming here to ask you out?"

"He must be shy." Sakura rolled her eyes as Ino kept talking about how Sasuke will pick her above any other girl; since she is considered one of the most popular and prettiest girls in Konoha High.

Meanwhile, Kiba and Hinata had made their way to a hallway that was far away from her classroom (and from her friends), or as Kiba always described them, her 'silly' friends.

"No one will bother us here… Not even you're cousin Neji." He said as he walked toward the window and gazed outside. "Hinata, there is something important that you need to know… But I don't know how to say it…"

Hinata looked at him and all she felt was a sudden pressure in her chest, indicating that something was not right.

"Kiba-kun… You're worrying me now… Is everything alright?" She said as she got closer to him.

"No… It is not…" He said still looking outside the window. He then noticed something moving at the top of the building. "Wait, is that who I think it is?"

"What?" Hinata asked, feeling confused as to the sudden change of mood.

"That idiot new kid," Kiba said pointing at the top of the building. "He's taking a nap on the edge of the building where there is no fence!"

Hinata then realized that it was Naruto who he was talking about. She saw him nap so calmly at the top of the building, very close to the edge, exposing himself to a big ugly fall. But he seemed so peaceful, that she doubted that he would fall. And if he did, then an angel would rescue him… His face was as peaceful as she wished she could have in her home.

"Oh whatever… a teacher will come later and get him in trouble again." Kiba said turning around. And that was when she saw that Kiba's expression seemed worried. "Hinata… the reason I asked you later about your dad is because I heard something that Neji mentioned earlier."

"W-What is it?" Hinata said as she felt her heart beating fast from the tension.

"Well, first of all, don't think that I was eavesdropping on your cousin… I was just walking by and managed to hear him… But what he said really shocked me… So much that I needed to ask you about it and if you didn't know, which in fact it seems quite likely that you don't, then I want to be the first one to tell you…" He gave a long pause as he breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. "Hinata… I don't think you're going to like what I say…"

"Just tell me what it is Kiba-kun… I trust that you mean to not harm me. Whatever it is, I am sure that I can manage it."

"Very well… Hinata, you're father has betrothed you…" Kiba gave a long pause as he saw Hinata's expression change into a surprised one. "I heard Neji this morning talking about it… When he saw that I was there, I left quickly to tell you…"

"I-I… can't believe this…" Hinata said as tears started forming in her eyes, but she managed to hold them in. "I know that my relationship with my father isn't at its best… but I never thought that he would ever do this to me behind my back… Even my own Nissan knew this…"

"Hinata, I'm sorry for what I just said. But you'll have to act soon… Your father is planning on telling you today, and it seems as though business is everything to him… He's going to make you accept the engagement in order to win more finance…"

"Inuzuka-san, I think you've said enough…" They suddenly heard as Neji showed up walking toward them. "This is only a matter of family business, in which it does not concern you…"

"Oh really, then if I hadn't butted in, Hinata would've been getting the surprise of her life later… Sooner or later she has to know! And I'm surprised that even her own cousin, who protects her so much, was hiding something like that to her!"

"Inuzuka-san, you know nothing about our family or how her father treats her!" Neji then grabbed Hinata's arm. "And look at what you just did! Hinata-sama is now upset…"

"N-Neji-nissan… W-Why did you not tell me this before?" Hinata said. "Why did you hide it from me…?"

"Hinata-sama, please understand that… Your father made me promise to him that I wouldn't tell you… And I was planning to tell you about it, despite making that promise to Hiashi-sama. But even so; it is you who concerns me a lot…"

"Since when do you know about this?" Hinata said looking at him. Neji couldn't help but feel a little pressure in his chest as he saw the deception in her eyes.

"About a month… I was waiting for the right moment to tell you…" Hinata then nodded and turned around to walk away from him. Kiba tried to place his hand on her shoulder but she only moved fast to avoid any comfort.

"Wait, Hinata!" Kiba said following her as she then started walking faster. She then started running and disappeared into the next hallway taking the stairs.

Kiba kept going following her, but he soon felt Neji's hand on his shoulder stopping him from his track.

"I think it's best if you let Hinata-sama be by herself right now…" Kiba roughly took his hand off his shoulder and glared at him. "She's upset right now, but she won't be like that for long… You know how she is, sometimes she needs time to be alone and think. She never spontaneously yells at people, nor does she ever get into an argument…"

Hinata ran fast enough on the stairs and made her way up to the top of the building. She then stopped and crouched down a little to catch her breath. She felt pressure in her chest, fatigued and sweat coming down her forehead. She suddenly felt a single drop of rain fall down on her shoulder, and looked up to see that the sky had gotten much darker than it was in the morning. She then started thinking about what Kiba had told her. She didn't know how to overcome that shock so she decided to runaway by herself to calm down.

Her head was dizzy with all the things that went through her mind. So she walked next to the edge of the ceiling were there were no fences. She was sure people were watching her from the other classrooms, but she didn't care. It wasn't as though she was going to jump off the building; she just needed a free way to look outside the school. She needed to feel the fresh air and the smell of humid rain about to fall down. She then breathed in and out to calm down her nerves and anxiety. It was then that she realized something she hadn't asked Neji.

_Who am I engaged to?_ Hinata thought as she closed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples. She then gave out a long sigh and sat down.

Staring at the cloudy sky, she thought about how much she used to enjoy those rainy days at home back when her mother was still alive. She would make soup, bake some cookies and they would eat them; fresh from the oven. Her little sister would fight with her in order to win their mother's attention. Her mother would laugh and hug them both. At night, her mother would put them in bed and hum a sweet song until they would eventually fall asleep.

_Mother, only you know what is best for me… But what should I do? It's so scary to think that I am engaged to someone I don't even know, nor do I love… _Hinata then looked down from the building. She noticed that there were people walking around. From her view, they all looked like ants. She wished she could sometimes be the one who is bigger than the others. So that they could all look up to her and not treat her like a defenseless child.

She then thought about it again. There was no reason to be mad at Neji since it wasn't his fault. It was her father's doing after all. She couldn't blame Neji for keeping it from her; he was only trying to protect her. But then again, she wasn't a child anymore.

She pushed all her thoughts away as she heard the bell ring. She stood up and went straight to the next class she had, hoping that it would rain a little.

Soon, after a long day, the final bell rang, indicating that it was time to leave.

Many students took their things and got out of their classrooms as fast as they could. Hinata always took her time to organize her things before leaving; she never had the anxiety that the others had.

"Hey Hinata," She turned around to see Ino running towards her through the hallway. "A couple of guys invited me to go and get some ice cream. And they said that I could bring my friends along. I already invited Sakura but she refused. But the other girls I asked said yes… I was wondering if you wanted to tag along as well."

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass-"

"Come on Hinata!" Ino said grabbing both of her shoulders. "It's their treat… It's not every day that you get a chance like this. And besides, you won't be alone. And it is also a great way to meet cute guys." She said the last thing winking at her. Hinata blushed and then shook her head.

"Sorry, but I have things to do. But thank you Ino-san for inviting me, perhaps maybe for a next time…"

"Aw come on, what are you going to do? Sit in your room and finish some homework or read a book? Hinata, do something different once in a while… You'll always have plenty of time to read… But, if it is what you want then I won't force you." Ino said as she took her hands off both of Hinata's shoulders and giving her a sad look. Hinata couldn't help but feel bad. But something told her that she shouldn't go. It was vibe, she guessed.

"I'm sorry Ino-san, but I promise I will for a next time."

"Alright then, see you tomorrow Hina!" As Ino said this, she hugged Hinata tightly and walked away fast enough to catch the crowd of people that were waiting for her at the other side of the hallway.

She felt bad for turning down her friend's offer, but she really didn't want to go; especially if there were going to be a lot of guys that she didn't know. But all she wanted was to relax. Besides, her cousin Neji would only tag along with them just to watch over her.

"I'm going to walk Tenten to her house before walking home." She heard Neji say as she saw him approaching her.

"It's okay Neji-nissan; I'm going to stay here a little longer." She said smiling at him.

"Are you sure? Because you can come with us, I prefer it more than you walking home alone." Neji said with his usual over-protective brotherly tone of voice.

"It's okay Neji-nissan, I'll be fine." She said softly.

Neji sighed a little and gave her a worried look.

"Fine, but don't come home late!"

"Don't worry I won't." As Hinata said so, she kissed her cousin in the cheek and left.

The school was almost empty; almost everyone had left to their homes. Hinata was one of the few left. But before going home, she wanted to go to the music classroom. She had done a habit of playing the piano there whenever no one was around. Coming from a rich family, Hinata was forced to learn many things, such as playing piano, doing ballet, singing class, etc… But she had never liked any of those things, except for the piano. Her eldest sister on the other side; was very talented in many ways. In just a few lessons, she had dominated well the ballet steps, faster than Hinata would ever thought she would. She once sprained her ankle, making her father disappointed, but she never blamed him since she was never that good at it as much as she tried to. Her sister was basically her father's favorite in everything. But she never envied her; she always accepted every insult or argument that her father would give her.

Her sister Hanabi, on the other hand, had a great relationship with Hinata in which she admired her older sister a lot.

Hinata thought about how much she and Hanabi were completely opposites. Hanabi was more outgoing, much clever. Hinata was more of the shy, introverted type. But that didn't stop the two sisters from being so close to each other since their mother's death. Hinata remembered a song that her mother would sing most of the time. Her mother had studied abroad in Europe and had managed to learn many languages of many cultures; but such as in music where she would play the piano ever so beautiful.

Hinata then saw the classroom and opened the door. She was about to close it, but she then thought that no one was there either way, so she decided to leave it slightly open. She quickly spotted the piano, and sat at the bench. She then started playing and soon after a few seconds of playing, she opened then started reciting the song that her mother used to love.

It was a soft and sweet song. She had practiced it since years; but such as other songs. And thinking about it, no one had ever heard her sing; not even her cousin Neji. The singing lessons she had taken once had helped her define her voice.

She sang as she moved her hands over the piano, making each tone sound soft raising her voice ever as often as she would get closer to the choir of the song. It was then, that she hadn't noticed that someone was behind the door, she heard someone letting out a yell of pain as she head a thump in the floor. She stopped playing and turned around to see that it was Naruto who was on the floor. Said guy looked at her and made his usual grin of embarrassment while scratching the back of his head.

"S-Sorry if I interrupted you…" He said. And so a big blush appeared on Hinata's cheeks.

* * *

Keep looking forward for more! The good part hasn't started yet.

I accept any type of critic; I am not bothered by it.

This is my first story since the last story I posted four to five years ago...

Enjoy yourselves!


	2. Chapter 2: Of first encounters

Chapter 2: Of first encounters

"Alright Naruto, you can sit here." Iruka said indicating the seat that was next to his small desk.

His desk was all covered in papers and a bunch of magazines. Iruka pushed away all the papers and took out another folder. Naruto wondered that if it was probably the test he had given them the day before.

"Now Naruto, I want to ask you something… But before that, I just want you to know that I have been reading your student record, and all I have to say is that it isn't at all that good looking..."

"What'd you mean?" Naruto said. "Does it mean I'll get suspended? Or worse, you'll call my parents… Just know that I don't have any parents, only a godfather who takes care of me and if he finds out that I am in trouble he'll kill me for sure!"

Iruka let out a long sigh.

"Don't worry Naruto; I won't be calling your godfather… And yes, I already knew that you live with him. But Naruto, you're on probation, meaning that you have to behave. And what I meant to ask was, what is it that keeps you from waking up early in the morning? You're late almost every day… And not only that, but you have been caught cutting class and copying during a test… If you keep this up, you really might get suspended…"

"No please don't" Naruto said quickly standing up. "Please, I can't get kicked out of school again! Ero-sennin will make sure I get my punishment for good this time…"

"I know Jiraiya-san myself, and I know that he won't like it if I call him to give him news about you… All I'm saying is that, you have to work on your sleeping habit and on your academic disciplinary. I forgive you for being tardy. But as of tomorrow on, I want you to come early to school. No more being late for school, otherwise you'll get called to the principal's office, and trust me you do not want the principal scolding you…" Naruto gulped and felt a cold small sweat running down his forehead. He knew who the principal of that school was; she used to be Jiraiya's classmate and not to mention that they were still communicating with each other. "So, as your punishment, you will have to clean my classroom for the rest of the month…"

"What?" Naruto said loudly. "But-"

"No buts Naruto." Iruka said. "Otherwise I'll have to give you detention… You choose."

Naruto let out another low growl and nodded.

"Where's the mop?" He said faking his tone of voice forcefully to seem as though he was okay with it.

Iruka smiled at Naruto, thinking about when he was around his age, but he was never as hyper or as troublemaker as Naruto is.

"Curse you Iruka-sensei and your stupid freak cleaning habit." Naruto murmured as he was walking along the hallway. If it wasn't for Iruka's cleaning freak habit, he would've been at the soccer tryouts by now. Now he had to wait a whole semester again.

_So Iruka-sensei said that his classroom is next to the music room… _Naruto thought as he looked for the classroom. He already knew the school's structure like the palm of his hand. But he never bothered to pass by the art classroom, nor music classroom, or the hallway with the different types of clubs. He would call it the nerd's hallway; not his thing at all. Maybe that was why he was already starting to fail Iruka's class.

He soon saw Iruka's classroom number; it was right next to the music classroom. But as he passed by, he saw that the door from the music class was slightly open. It was then that he heard a sudden sweet and soft melody followed by a voice as gentle as the touch of a butterfly.

_Stabat Mater, dolorosa, Stabat Mater, dolorosa_

_Iuxta Crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat filius._

It was the voice of a female; her tone of voice coming out softly enough. It was like the sound of an angel who was praying for world peace.

Naruto had never heard a voice as sweet as that one. He couldn't stand his curiosity so he went and saw through the slightly opened door; it was then that he saw her. She had long dark hair, her hands were moving smoothly. He managed to move a little to see if he could catch to see her face. And soon, he noticed that it was the quiet girl that sat next to him at the first period. Since the moment he started sitting next to her, not once did she ever said a word to him. He once did try to ask her something, but he couldn't manage to hear what she was saying since she spoke in a very low voice. He thought she was weird and creepy, but now that he was hearing her sing for the first time, he was astonished and surprised. Who would've thought that someone so quiet could hide such a talent?

He moved a little further, and as he did, he suddenly lost balance due to the position he was. His hand slipped from grabbing the door's handle and fell on to the floor. He didn't have time to get up and leave fast so as to not scare the girl; but she had already seen him.

When he looked at her, she was already looking at him with a surprised look. He noticed that her skin was pale but very smooth looking. Her cheeks were flushed with red, her lips were small, and her hair was longer than he thought it was, which made him want to pass his fingers through her soft hair. He then saw her blushing surprised look and grinned a little bit and laughed like an idiot from the embarrassment of falling.

"Hehe… Sorry if I interrupted your rehearsal…" He said while scratching the back of his head, still sitting on the floor.

"N-Not at all." She said.

"Say… What's your name? I think we seat next to each other at a class…"

"I am, Hinata Hyuga… A-And we take Iruka-sensei's class together…"

"Ah, now I see!" He said grinning. "Well, my name is Naruto-"

"Uzumaki-san… Y-Yes I know your name…" She said shyly while looking at the floor as her cheeks got flushed again.

"Call me Naruto," He said as he got up. He then smiled again. "I will be the future ruler of a big company one day, Dattebayo!"

Hinata giggled a little at his sudden comment. She had heard that he wanted to become a CEO of a big company but that he didn't even had any connections.

"So… What was that song that you were playing just now?"

"I-It's called Stabat Mater… My mother used to sing it to me a-all the time…" She said while still blushing and looking away. For some reason, she couldn't look at him straight in the eye; she felt that if she did she would get lost in them.

"Do you perhaps belong to any singing record or any of those sorts?" She then moved her head in negation. "No? Why not? You sing beautiful, I'm sure you could easily win any singing competition, Dattebayo!"

She looked at him in awe. No one had ever said that to her.

"Oh shit, I have to clean Iruka-sensei's classroom." He said while opening his eyes wide. He made his way out the door fast but stopped before leaving. "See ya Hinata! It was nice meeting ya!"

"N-Nice meeting you too…" She said almost in a low voice, in which Naruto did not seem to hear since he left the classroom fast.

It was a good thing that Hinata always kept a small umbrella in her school bag. After Naruto left, she stayed in the classroom playing the piano for a couple of minutes. It was when she suddenly heard the thunder from outside that she realized that it was already late. When she saw outside, it was raining like crazy. She took out her small umbrella and opened it. She then took off calmly to her house, even though she knew Neji would start calling her and interrogating her to know where she is.

Hinata had never liked when it rained so much like it was in that moment; it was in a rain like that that her mother had passed away from cancer. She still remembered it clearly, her mother lying in her bed looking all defenseless and so weak. Her father sitting next to her emotionless, not a single tear did he shed. The only one who was crying was her. Hanabi was still too young to even know what was going on. And just when there was a sound of a thunder, her mother had already closed her eyes and stopped breathing. Even their servants still mourned her mother's death. She was a woman whom her kindness was to be remembered.

Hinata finally spotted her home from far away. As always, the Hyuga residence was isolated, not even a soul was there. She saw a light emanating from the windows of the left side of the mansion. She guessed her father was there after all, probably in his office room, but at least the house wasn't that empty. As she stepped in, she took off her shoes leaving them on the front, and saw that Neji was sitting in the couch seeming somehow petrified.

"Hinata-sama!" He said exasperated. She then wondered why her cousin seemed to be scared.

"Father came home early…" She said and Neji nodded. She then noticed that he looked down at the floor with worried eyes. "Neji-nissan, is there something-"

"Hinata-sama, your father is home early because he needs to speak of something important to you…" He said, she then knew what he meant; he probably already knew who her fiancé is and he seemed to be shocked by it. "But before he tells you, I just want you to know that whatever you hear him say, please try to maintain a calm position… I think you will be quite shocked once he tells you so… Please do not question him or any of the sorts… I don't want him to do anything to…" Neji was then caught off by Hiashi's voice.

"Hinata, it's good that you're already here…" Hiashi said in a serious tone. "Please, come and sit down with me to have some tea… There is something important that you need to know." He then disappeared into the other room.

Hinata then looked at Neji a little scared. Normally her father was always cold, but this time he sounded way more serious than usual. She then followed her father to the room where he had led her.

Inside the room, there was a small table in the middle where Hinata sat facing her father. Her father then grabbed a cup for her and served her some tea as she sat down on the floor; obviously on top of a comfy pillow.

"Hinata, I have been speaking to some of my connections, and they have made me really good offers…" Hiashi stopped just to take a sip from his tea. As he calmly did so, Hinata could feel her heartbeat in her throat from how nervous she felt. "The offers consist mostly about negotiations, administration in the weakest areas, some shareholders partners have even offered to sell me their share… As you know, the company is at its best time right now, but that doesn't mean I should let my guard down… Many other companies are always aware of the slightest mistake we do just to sue us or cheat their way up.

"And I fear that when I am no longer here, I don't want you to lead the company by yourself feeling insecure or scared... We can't afford to lose what we have gained from years of hard work and sacrifice." Hiashi said pausing again to take another sip from his tea calmly. "As you know, every year there is a party thrown exclusively for the people who have the highest positions in a company... And sometimes, we do business in that same activity such as selling shares, planning for future, buying other people's shares and even the closing negotiation of two working companies together…

"So I contacted the Uchiha Corp. and they made me a really good offer… It has already been settled that you, my eldest daughter and heiress to my shares of the Hyuga Company, is to be engaged to the youngest of the Uchiha family; in which I understand he is of your same age."

At that moment, Hinata had already stopped drinking her tea upon hearing her father's words.

"The benefits of this union consist in many things such as, when the day of your inheritance of the company comes; the youngest of the Uchiha will be the one to take care of the business… That way, you won't have to bother with going to any meetings, nor attending certain conferences; the job has always been for a man to do. Not only will this help you, but it will also help out the company as well. The Uchiha will unite with us and give us their parts of shares in exchange of the engagement… Both companies will be even more successful and gain much more than we do now…" Hiashi took a quick pause just to breathe in; it was hard talking about this topic with his eldest daughter even though he knew it was best for her. "Hinata… I know that this is very difficult for you to understand… But, for some time already, your grandfather has been making his observations on you… He does not approve of you inheriting the company… It's too much work for a woman and for someone like you. You are kind and gentle, Hinata. It is your best quality, but also your greatest weakness in the business area…"

Hinata only nodded while looking at the floor, trying to hold the tears that were evident already. She did not want her father to see her cry at a moment like that, she would only look like a little girl in front of him. Her father then cleared his throat so that she would look at him in the eyes, which worked.

"A party will be held at the Uchiha Company this Friday night. All business men will be there, obviously this party is also held just for the purpose of making more negotiations, but I want you to come with me so that you can meet your fiancé, Sasuke Uchiha." It was then that Hinata blinked twice after hearing the name.

_Sasuke Uchiha? I am engaged to Uchiha-san!_ She thought on the verge of almost freaking out. The guy almost every girl in her school went crazy for is her future husband. She then stood up, and tried to open her mouth to decline what her father had said.

"This isn't an option for you to make Hinata, this is an agreement that both Itachi Uchiha and I have made already. So I expect you to behave at the party." Hiashi then stood up and bowed to her before leaving. "Later we will organize an engagement party… Later I will inform you more about your engagement and of your future." Hiashi then walked out of the room.

Hinata was devastated. It was all just a part of a negotiation that her father had agreed to do with his fellow business acquaintances. She headed toward her room passing by Neji and not saying a word to him. It wasn't his fault, but she just needed time to reason everything her father had said to her. What was she going to do with her studies? It was her last year of high school, how was she going to spend the whole year by knowing that she was engaged? What would happen to her plans of going to college, meeting her prince and marrying the man she hoped to fall in love with? It was a childish dream, but all she wanted was to get out of the house, save her cousin Neji from basically being the slave of the house, and to take her little sister with her so that she wouldn't have to go through the same thing as well. But how was she going to do all this when she didn't even have a plan? Her father would never allow her to step in the house ever again, but she didn't mind as long as her cousin and her sister were saved.

She sat down her bed thinking about it. A tear suddenly came down her cheek; it was painful for her thinking about escaping the only place she ever knew about. If only her mother was there, she was sure her mother would have prevented it. Ever since her mother passed away, her father had changed completely. He used to be warm and kind, just like how her mother was, but he had changed to be cold, distant from her, and very into his work instead of spending time with both Hinata and her sister Hanabi.

With tears still in her cheeks, Hinata closed her eyes and fell asleep. She couldn't handle the pressure she was starting to get in. She didn't even bother going downstairs for dinner, she would rather die from starving than getting married to someone she barely knew just for the sake of the company.

The next day, Hinata went to school with very little enthusiasm. Next to her was Neji, he only thought about how bad he felt that she had to go through something like that. When his uncle had told him, he had gotten very angry and had even yelled at his uncle; in which resulted of Hiashi slapping Neji in the face making him fall down the floor.

"_Forgive me Hiashi-sama, but this is too cruel and unfair for Hinata-sama… Have you considered her feeling, her plans for the future?" Neji said as he touched his warm cheek from the burning sensation he felt. _

"_It does not matter whether she has plans or not… The decision has been made and she will be marrying Sasuke Uchiha… Now I ask of you to keep an eye on her. Do not let her be acquainted with any other boy in her school. I don't want any disgrace to ruin the plans…" Hiashi said._

Neji knew his uncle was a cold man, but he never thought he would go to such extremes as to selling his eldest daughter to another wealthy family. He suddenly saw Hinata stop. He noticed that she was looking at the floor until a sudden drop of water had dropped to the floor. She was crying again. He then placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder, trying to let her know that he was there for her. She then looked at him and gave him a warm smile that made him think twice whether she was crying or not earlier.

After getting to school, Hinata had heard from Sakura that Ino had been attacked the night before. She couldn't help but let her tears fall down as she started sobbing into Sakura's embrace. She felt guilty for not accompanying her friend the night before. It was said that she was found unconscious in an alley; bleeding. Due to the loss of blood, she was in a critical stated. The group Ino had gone with had gotten attacked as well. They were all found individually in other alleys. Two didn't make it in time to the hospital, one died in the ambulance, and the other died just as they arrived at the hospital. It was the tragic news that everyone spoke of that day.

Both Hinata and Sakura had gotten to the hospital to see their friend. All the time, Ino didn't wake up, and they still didn't know who had done attacked Ino and the others. It was a good thing that Kiba's family were a family of policemen for ages, so he would always inform everything he knew to both Sakura and Hinata. Even though there still wasn't any sign of Ino waking up; they still hoped that at some point she was going to wake up and get better.

Hinata's week was filled of worries and much other disgrace. Her father had yelled at her many times that week, the reason was because she was so deep in thought, that she would lose concentration whenever someone talked to her. At school, the atmosphere was depressing after the tragic events the days before. Not even talking to her friend Kiba and Shino cheered her up much. Even though Kiba would tease her a lot, she would smile but she would then get back to the usual sadness that everyone carried. Kiba of course, knew all her worries. All he wanted was to let her know that he was there for her.

Despite all the worries Hinata had, there was only one thing that would always cheer her up; it was playing the piano. All those days, after school, she would stay for a little while and play the piano while singing. A couple of times Naruto did pass by just to listen to her. At first, she felt a little embarrassed of having him there listening to her since she wasn't used to it. But then, she started to like it. Every time she would see him around the school, she would get nervous and hide somewhere. It wasn't to avoid him; just the sight of him, would make her get nervous. But in a way, she knew that he had a crush on her friend Sakura as he had tried to ask her out in front of everyone. Sakura of course had rejected him in the meanest way possible. It seems as though that week was not the best since Naruto had almost gotten into a fight the one and only Sasuke Uchiha. No one messed with him. Yet, Hinata was glad that Shikamaru, the class president, had stopped them before fighting with each other.

Friday finally came. And as usual, Hinata had stayed for a little while playing the piano. She didn't catch to see Naruto that day; she guessed he was doing the cleaning in Iruka's classroom. So she decided to go home a little early; either way she couldn't do her usual visit to the hospital to see Ino that day since she had to get ready for the party at night. Luckily, Neji had let her go home alone; step by step he was starting to let her be by herself. Since she knew that it was now up to her in a way.

As she got to her house, all she thought about was how many times she had caught Sasuke's gaze on her. What made her feel even more uncomfortable was that he never took his sight off her. Sakura didn't know anything about Sasuke being her fiancé. She knew how her friend felt about Sasuke; she just needed to find a way to tell her, but to also let her know that she was in no way interested in him.

It was already around five thirty in the evening. Hinata looked at herself in the mirror and saw her long formal attire. She gazed at her gown, which dropped all the way to the floor, hugging her figure. She tried to cover her chest as much as she could, but it was unavoidable for her natural features would always stick out. The fabric was of a lilac color, soft cotton made by the finest designers in Japan. Thankfully, Hanabi had taken the time to do her hair. Her sister enjoyed it more than she did, since she never tended to go to any formal events like that. Being homeschooled; brought many disadvantages. But Hanabi was already used to it and she enjoyed it no matter what.

Hinata then left with her father in the car, where the driver took them all the way to the Uchiha's building. Once they got there, Hinata could feel butterflies in her stomach, either from nervousness or anxiety. In a way, she knew it was going to be a long night, but not in the good way or so she thought.

She then entered the building and was struck with so many luxuries; much more luxuries than the Hyuga's company owned.

The party was to be held at the top floor of the building. Once they got there, Hinata accompanied her father, all the time greeting his business partners as politely as she could. They would all compliment her; ask her about her plans for the Hyuga Company (in which she did not seem to answer well as she got nervous). She was then left alone sitting on the table while Hiashi went to greet his other acquaintances. She looked around to see that there was a group of people dancing in the rhythm of the ballad that the musicians were playing. She then noticed that everything in the room was luxurious. The food was to be served within an hour, so she guessed she might as well go out to see the city view from the balcony.

Thankfully, the floor had a balcony that wasn't closed. And for Hinata's luck, there wasn't many people there, only a few. She stood right in front of the fence. The city looked bright with so many different colors of lights. She could see her school from where she was. She then began to think about the piano she most dearly played almost every day. Strangely enough, Naruto always seemed to pop in her head whenever she would go to the music room. There was something about him; the way that he would defend himself and the way he would get in trouble all the time did not seem to even bother him at all. He would get embarrassed in front of the class, and yet he would still smile and joke about it. Nothing would make him feel sad, and that's what would get Hinata's attention. She never stopped looking at him. Not many people in her class seemed to like him; and yet he would always make some friends. Even after fighting with one of his classmates, they would become friends after, and that was because Naruto only looked to have friends and not enemies.

She then heard her father calling her. She quickly rushed inside the room. She then saw that her father was talking to two men. She noticed one of them; Sasuke Uchiha. There was no doubt that the man whom her father was talking to was his older brother Itachi Uchiha.

"Ah, Hinata, please come here." Her father said as she slowly walked next to him. She felt Sasuke's cold eyes looking at her. "I want you to meet Itachi Uchiha, president of the Uchiha Company." Hinata bowed politely to him, in which Itachi then took her hand and kissed the top of it.

"It is so nice to finally meet the daughter of Hyuga-san." He said while still smiling.

"And this here is his younger brother Sasuke Uchiha…" Hiashi said. Hinata then bowed to him as well, already feeling butterflies in her stomach. "He is your soon-to-be fiancé my dear. I was talking with Itachi about planning the engagement party… He says he knows of a great place were the party can be held…"

"Of course!" Itachi said smiling. Just by seeing him smile, made Hinata feel a lot more at ease. Itachi seemed to be a much warmer person, unlike his brother. He too was handsome with his long hair which was held in a low ponytail. The tuxedo he wore; made him look younger than he appeared, Hinata was sure that Itachi could either be in his late twenties or early thirties. Although he too possessed the same narrow eyes as his brother Sasuke, and the same serious expression, he was kinder and nicer.

"And I'm sure Sasuke won't have a problem with getting along with Hinata since they do go to the same school." Itachi said.

"Oh, will you look at that? They already know each other; this is definitely not a coincidence, but fate." Hiashi said, making Hinata blush in embarrassment.

Sasuke was speechless the whole time. It made her feel annoyed that she was standing right in front of him and not once did he even said a word.

"Hyuga-san, I would like to discuss a matter of business… Just the two of us…" Itachi said. Hiashi then nodded. "Please Sasuke, make Hinata some company and do not leave her alone… A true gentleman always makes sure the lady is well accompanied." Sasuke only nodded without saying anything, and with that said, Itachi and Hiashi walked to the other side of the room.

As they both got away from almost everyone, Itachi signaled Hiashi to follow him to a door where no one was allowed to go inside but only the employees.

"Hyuga-san," Itachi said as he changed his smiling face into a much serious one. "The sightings are starting again… Three days ago, a group of kids were attacked and found unconsciously bleeding in the streets… I heard from my connections, that this was no man's doing… I am sure it was them, Hiashi."

"I cannot believe they would come back so soon; maybe for another hundred years, but now?" Hiashi said. "We need to do something… Both of our ancestors have been hunting them for years… We cannot let them get their way with the city this time…"

"Indeed… I must say, my employees did tell me that they had found a way to eliminate them… But it is highly risky, and I'm afraid it cannot be used for it will cost the lives of many people in the city…"

In that moment, Hiashi looked over at his daughter who was still standing next to Sasuke speechless.

"As long as my daughter is saved, then nothing else matters…"

Hinata was trying to play with one of her bracelets as she thought of a way to start a conversation with Sasuke. It was difficult for her to initiate a conversation with someone she barely knew, it always happened to her.

"So… I see your brother, Itachi, really cares about you a lot… It must be nice to have an older brother like him always looking out for you…" She said shyly, while looking away.

"Hn…" Sasuke said. "Only when he knows he has to… He doesn't even know what my favorite hobby is, or my dislikes."

After that, there was another silence, in which made Hinata feel very uncomfortable. Just as she was about to tell Sasuke she was going outside the balcony to get some fresh air, the voice of her father stopped her.

"I see you two are getting along." Hiashi said smiling. "Sasuke, please do come and visit our home for dinner one of these days." Hinata quickly looked at his father with a shock look. "We _are_ going to be family soon, so we might as well and get to know each other."

"Of course sir," Sasuke said as he nodded politely, still not showing any expression but his usual cold look. "Just tell me when, and I will go."

"Perfect!" Hiashi said still smiling.

Soon they all heard that the food was going to be served in a couple of minutes. Everyone gathered in groups to sit down in each of the tables that had been assigned to them. They all laughed, drink and talk until the food was finally served. Just before digging in, Itachi decided to sound his glass of wine, making everyone look at him.

"Please, let us all give a toast to the upcoming future of the company, for success and also," He looked at Hiashi. "I give my most honest wishes for everyone to stay healthy and to take care… For we are the biggest thing in the city, the ones who are most admired by everyone."

Everyone then sounded their glasses on wine with each other and immediately starting eating. Hinata didn't even bother to taste her glass of wine. All she wanted was to go home already. Having to sit next to the person she barely knew made her feel nervous.

A few minutes passed, and Hinata still hadn't touched her plate. She looked at the fish that was above her plate, and then she decided to look out the window. Hiashi on the other side was very interested in the conversation that he had on with Itachi and the other men in the table. Only Hinata and Sasuke maintained quiet.

Everyone laughed, ate conversed, danced, etc… Just when the atmosphere was getting quite calm, Hinata saw a sudden dark figure passing fast from where she was sitting. Everyone heard a sudden growl, but not many people paid attention. It was when Hinata decided to stand up and walk toward the window, when a sudden figure came through the window breaking it. Hinata tried to cover herself from the shattered pieces, but was stabbed by a piece of glass in her arm.

Everyone screamed in fear as they started rushing toward the elevator; and others to the stairs. Some hid themselves under the tables, trying to not look at the creature. But the creature was smart and fast, it managed to run toward some people and bite them. With his claws, the creature scratched the whole walls and tore people's skin apart.

Luckily, Hinata had been spared from the when the creature had entered for she quickly fell to the floor from the pain she felt on her arm with the peace of glass. Since her father was nowhere to be seen, she decided to hide under the table that was next close to the window.

"Hinata!" She heard her father say

"God dammit!" Hiashi said to himself. He was on the other side of the room, being protected by Itachi's security guards. "Uchiha-sama, call reinforcements!"

"I'm already on it." Itachi said. He then looked at Sasuke, his little brother was looking at everything in shock, he would never forgive himself for exposing his little brother in such an event. "This is Itachi Uchiha, bring out the guns!" He said while talking on the cell phone.

"Where is Hinata-sama?" Itachi said looking over at Hiashi, who was more worried than he ever thought, would see.

"I-I don't know..." Hiashi said looking at the floor. "Those bastards will pay for this!"

Another large group of guards quickly led them outside the room into a much safer one; while the others guards stayed shooting at the creature. The creature only jumped in amusement as the guards aimed fire, while everyone screamed in horror.

Hinata couldn't believe everything she was seeing. Her hands and feet started shaking, so she hugged herself, still under the table. She then started praying for a way to stop the creature. She decided to take a peek while the creature stood in front of her. She stood still for a moment as she heard it sniffing. She then felt her only protection being lifted away from her; exposing her. She looked up in horror; the creature had the features of an animal, almost wolf like.

She felt its red eyes looking deep into hers. She stood still; her breath was caught on her breath as the creature crouched down to smell at her. The sight was so scary that she couldn't hold it anymore so she screamed as she stood up to run away. Hinata ran as fast as she could, but a sudden deep pain made her fall to the floor screaming. She then felt the creature's saliva drip down its mouth, falling on her dress and hair. Hinata looked away, as she thought of how her last moments were. She would never get to graduate. Her plans of going to college and getting both her sister and her cousin far away from her family's graze, what would she do if she was eaten?

The creature lifted Hinata by grabbing her arm. She saw its dark greasy fur, stained in blood; it reeked of blood as well. Its breath was horrible as it opened the mouth to growl at her in her last moments. She tried to move, but it was impossible for she felt a deep pain in the left side of her abdomen.

Just as it was about to yank her arm off, a sudden growl was heard from the other side of the room.

It was another creature, similar to the one that was holding her. But instead of having the same greasy dark fur, its fur was a lighter color, almost a yellowish color. Its eyes were a deep blue, not red. It rushed over to the creature that was holding her, and pushed it to the other side of the room; making Hinata drop to the floor and land on her wound. She kept still laying on the floor, as the blonde creature rushed to the dark one. She saw how it ripped the other creature's tongue off, leaving a massive puddle of blood. The dark creature screamed in pain, and soon, the blonde one managed to weaken it by punching it hard.

It gave a last punch, and Hinata heard the sound of scull crashing onto the floor. She looked up to see that the blonde one then moved toward her, leaving the other one lay on the floor bleeding to death. Her last vision was of its blue eyes looking at her in pain. She wondered if it would eat her. She didn't care anymore; the pain was so unbearable that she soon closed her eyes.

* * *

Sorry for the long wait. It gets a little difficult to write during the week with so many work.

The chapter was short, but this is as much as I can write now.

Feel free to message me, comment on the story, etc... I am open to every opinion.

P.S.

This is my second fanfic story, i'm still getting used to all of this.

Take care everyone!


	3. Chapter 3: Love at first Sight

Finally I'm back! I am so sorry for keeping you all wait, I read all your reviews and I am so thankful! I have been so ridiculously busy that I haven't even gotten time for myself. I even lost some inspiration for the story, but no worries, I am now back on track and filled with lots of inspiration! So I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please do feel free to review.

* * *

Chapter 3: Love at first sight

_She woke up and looked down to find herself wearing a white summer dress. _

"_Hinata." She looked around to see that it was Naruto who was calling her. She then looked at her surroundings, and noticed the rich green color of the grass. The sky was blue and dark clouds could be seen anywhere. _

_Why was Naruto calling her? When had she changed clothes? All she remembered was wearing a long formal dress, high heels, and she was inside a big ball room. _

_Naruto came running to her direction, behind him was Sakura and Sasuke. He grinned at her and grabbed her hand, leading her close to their friends. Sakura giggled as she saw Hinata's shock expression. _

"_Hina," Sakura said. "Loosen up! It's not every day you get a guy to hold your hand." _

_Hinata then looked at Sasuke, who had his usual serious expression, but this time, he seemed less tense and in a much better mood. She sensed her shyness kicking in; she had never had her hand held by a guy, especially from Naruto. It was something she wasn't expecting at all. She noticed that Naruto was looking at her; she couldn't help but feel the urge of looking somewhere else instead of looking straight at him. It was a habit that she had since little whenever someone was staring at her. _

"_Hinata," Naruto said. "If you don't look me straight in the eye, I'll throw you off the lake and then, you'll have to take your clothes off." He said the last thing winking at her playfully._

"_Naruto, don't be such a pervert!" Sakura said punching him in his shoulder. "Stop fooling around and man up when being around Hinata! If you want a girl to like you, then stop saying those things and just grow up."_

"_I was only joking!" Naruto said as he held his shoulder from the painful punch. "Geez, you sure have man arms."_

"_What did you say?"_

"_I-I didn't mean it, Sakura-chan!" Hinata felt herself smile and giggle a little bit. She never thought they would be such close friends. She even saw Sasuke smile a bit. _

"_Come Hinata." Naruto said grabbing her hand again, locking his eyes with hers. He led her close to the lake. They both sat down, enjoying the fresh air. Sakura and Sasuke had decided to stay where they were. _

"_Heh, it seems like they went off to have their fun." Naruto said as he smirked a little, making Hinata blush._

"_W-What do you mean? Do you suppose they're…" She didn't say the last words for she was already blushing madly in embarrassment. _

"_Nah, they probably just went to walk around… At least we get to be together…" He said looking at her. A sudden spark was seen in his blue eyes, it made Hinata shiver, she didn't know whether it was fear or anxious, but anxious for what?_

"_Wha… Naruto-kun! W-What are you…"_

_Naruto then pinned her down on the floor. He separated her legs, and he lowered himself down to whisper something in her ear. She didn't managed to hear what it was, but she felt him sucking on her skin, making her pale skin turn red. _

_Naruto grabbed hold of one of her breast, making Hinata moan in his ear. He smiled and sucked on her skin hard. Hinata laid there enjoying his touch. The way he touched her felt amazing. But she then felt something pointy on her breast. She opened her eyes to see claws grabbing onto both of her breasts. She screamed as she saw Naruto's blue eyes turn red. _

"_Naruto-kun! I-It hurts…" She said trying to move, but couldn't. He smirked and licked her left cheek._

"_I've been waiting for this for a long time… Now it is time to make you mine." Naruto said. But Hinata did notice that his voice was much deep, and it sounded very rough._

"_W-Wait… Don't!" Hinata said trying to move, but with each move she made, Naruto would squeeze her breasts hard with his claws, making her scream. _

_She then saw how Naruto started to grow fur, a dark color. The blue sky then turned into the dark shadows of the night, the grass seemed to have grown suddenly fast, not letting Hinata see beneath it all. _

_His eyes were blood red. His whisker marks had exaggerated in both of his cheeks, and his claws were covered of blood. Hinata screamed and yelled for help as Naruto ripped her clothes off with both of his claws. He then took her face and bit her lip hard, making her bleed from it._

"_You're so delicate… Yet so unbelievably attractive and well developed… It makes me want to eat you at this moment, but I still want to have my fun before doing so." With a smirk on his face, he then pinned her down the floor again. Her screams seemed to get lost in the air, as he hit her hard for her to stop yelling. "Silly girl, we're alone here… You're mine now, and no one will stop me."_

* * *

Hinata woke up with sweat on her forehead. Her head was beating, she tried getting up but couldn't as she felt her body feeling heavy. She then looked around to see that she was no longer in the frightful dark forest of what she had thought she was. But, it wasn't her room, neither was she in her own bed. She tried to move again until she felt herself lose her breath after feeling a deep pain in her lower abdomen. It was as though someone had stabbed her, so she held it as her face winced in pain.

Hinata pulled her robe up to see a bandage on the same spot that hurt. Once she moved the bandage a little bit to the side, she was struck with shock to see she had a wound that had gotten stitched. She hadn't noticed that the pain she felt so much was such a big wound… Nonetheless how she had slowly went unconscious, it made sense.

"Hinata-sama!" She heard and turned to look at Neji standing at the door with a worried look. Next to him was her friend Sakura. "You finally woke up… We've been so worried…"

"Hinata, how are you feeling?" Sakura said approaching her. Hinata looked at her and then looked around again to witness the moment disoriented.

"W-What happened? Why am I all stitched?"

"You don't remember?" She shook her head. " Hinata-sama… You were attacked by… By something… We don't exactly know what it was… The party was going well, until some strange _phenomenon_ happened…"

"What _phenomenon_ Neji-nissan?" Hinata said. It was strange to hear her cousin exaggerating words.

"I don't know, I wasn't there to witness it… But they told me that there was an intruder. They suspect that he had gone to kill one of the biggest executives of the company, but it turned out to be a massacre, or so I heard… No one really wanted to explain me anything; they just told me that he had gotten you…"

As soon as Hinata heard it, she tried to sit up. She couldn't do so after she felt the pain on her abdomen again.

"Hinata please lay down; you just got your stitches not long ago." Sakura said helping her friend lay down carefully.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan…" Hinata said, and as she felt the comfort of the pillow and felt herself getting a little dizzy. She guessed she had lost a lot of blood. But she started thinking; she didn't remember a man attacking anyone, nor her being attacked by someone. Her head hurt, her wound was starting to sting and she could see the room turning in circles as she laid there in the bed, trying to remember everything that had happened. There was her father; he introduced her to her fiancé, which was something that she was going to talk with him again. She was left alone talking with Sasuke Uchiha. The conversation seemed silent and awkward. She then remembered something coming through the window. The people running, blood, a lot of blood spilled on the floor.

Her head started beating in pain and so she closed her eyes. She heard her cousin say something, but she couldn't quite managed to hear him well. She remembered the tables all thrown apart, her hiding under one of them, until something grabbed her.

She realized what she had gotten face to face with; it was a creature, a wolf. And so her conscious mind made her fall asleep again.

Waking up again, her head was still spinning. She noticed Neji was still inside her room, reading a book, and Sakura was seen in the other side of the room too busy on her cellphone. Hinata looked up at the ceiling, and so she started thinking about the events of the night before. It was surely not any kind of animal that had come to attack all of them, of the thing that picked her up and whom had wounded her. But she remembered that another animal had come in and rescued her. Its hair was a dark blonde, not so light shaded; a dark tone. She felt uneasy thinking about it, just thinking that she was about to get her guts ripped apart by something she didn't know, it made her stomach twist.

"Hinata!" She heard Kiba's voice coming from the door. He had on a worried expression, and so he rushed in fast, ignoring Neji's sting eye, but he didn't care, he grabbed Hinata's hand and lowered himself next to her. "Hinata… I heard what happened and I am so sorry I couldn't come as soon as I found out… I was so caught up with my family's business that I barely had the time."

"I-It's okay Kiba-kun." She said smiling at him as he held her hand hard. "And you didn't had to come here. I'm fine."

"Hinata, you're not fine at all… Something attacked you, and whoever did it, will pay for this."

"Thank you for worrying about me Kiba-kun, but I'll be fine." She said once again still smiling despite the pain she was feeling in the moment.

"Hinata!" Sakura said suddenly as she stood up fast. "Ino's mom just texted me, she told me Ino woke up!"

"W-What… That's great!" Hinata said, feeling the pressure she had on her shoulders leave as she thought of her friend's well-being. "How long has she been awake?"

"I'm not sure… She just told me that…"

"Ask her if there is a chance we could visit her." Neji said with his usual serious expression. "And also, make sure she still isn't in a very delicate state, otherwise, there's a chance that the doctor won't let visitors in…" In that moment everyone in the room looked at him confused. Since when did Neji cared about Ino's well-being? Then again, mostly everyone in their school were afraid of some gang who was targeting Konoha High specifically.

"Do you suppose Ino will say who attacked her? I heard the others that where with her don't remember anything at all, and the rest… Well, they couldn't make it…" Kiba said while looking down at the floor remembering the horrific scene he had seen in the newspaper.

"I don't know, but Ino's mother just said that we should visit her tomorrow." Sakura said still looking at her phone. "She says she's still in quite a trauma, so she needs to rest…"

For the rest of the hour, they chatted a little bit, and they laughed at Kiba's goofy jokes, except for Neji, just to cheer Hinata and let her know that they were there. When they were about to leave, Sakura promised Hinata that she would come right away the next day to inform her about Ino's well-being, since Hinata was not going to be able to go.

As soon as Sakura and Kiba left, Hinata thought about her father, whom had not come to visit her, and asked her cousin about him.

"He's fine, he's busy." Neji said with a slightly annoyed look. "Hiashi-sama only told me to inform him if anything serious happened to you while being here in the hospital."

"Oh, I see…" She said looking down at the floor. It wasn't a big surprise that her father was busy at such a situation where her life had almost ended. At least her sister had sent her a text telling her that she was sorry she couldn't see her that day because they're father had her under vigilance after what had happened. It seemed as though Hiashi feared that his precious youngest daughter might be a target as well.

Neji then had excused himself and told her that he would be leaving home to get her more clothes and to shower as well since he had been there the whole day. As he left, Hinata thought about the events of the night before. She thought about telling Neji the full details, but she knew it would be best to tell him on another time. She was still tired, despite from all the sleep she had that day, she needed to rest. She closed her eyes again and thought about the amazing moments she had that week just sitting and playing the piano by herself… She wasn't even alone, thanks to that messy blonde headed boy who liked listening to her every day. Even though she still felt shy around him, she was grateful to him for keeping her company. Then again, he seemed somehow quite cute…

Not too far from the hospital, a blonde boy could be seen heavy breathing in his room. He was full of wounds and bruises. His tan skin was still covered of dried old blood. In that moment, a tall white haired man came in with an aid kit sighing.

"You idiot… It's a good thing you have me here…" He said.

"Thank you, ero-sennin…I owe you…" Naruto said.

The other night, Jiraiya saw as Naruto came home late and covered of blood. He thought about smacking him in the head, but as he saw Naruto faint down in the floor, he quickly helped him up and took him to his room. He didn't have time to clean all his wounds since Naruto would constantly move aggressively, he thought that he must've had it real hard this time. So he decided to let him sleep in the meantime. Naruto slept for quite a lot of time since he passed out until the next morning. He woke up with the feeling of throwing up and with a horrible itch all over his body. Even though he was used to it, he hated how it would linger around his body for almost an hour. Jiraiya always told him it was due to the change with his body since he was still changing. He was still in the process of growing. As soon as Jiraiya saw him waking up, he smacked him in the head even though it hurt ten times more than he thought it would.

"How many times have I told you that you're in a new city, which means you have to keep a low profile…"

"Dammit… I know, it's just that last night… Last night it was different."

"It better be something important for you to shift again." Jiraiya said as he sat down next to him and placed the aid kit on Naruto's bed. "So tell me, what exactly happened?"

"There was another one…" Naruto said as he breathed in, still feeling the pain rush all over his body from the other night. "But this one, he was out and hungry for good. Just like an animal, he went straight to his prey… Only it wasn't just one, it was a bunch…"

Jiraiya stayed quiet for the whole time Naruto kept talking, listening and waiting for his turn.

"I know you tell me I shouldn't butt in, but I just can't stand seeing others hurt because of my own species… They're all defenseless people, and they need help. Even if they see me as a monster, I want to be there to protect them…"

"You say this one acted just like an actual animal, did you managed to communicate with it?"

"No I couldn't. I tried to communicate but his mind was blank, it was as if he was being controlled…" Naruto said as he took off his shirt, still wincing in pain, he started cleaning his wounds and taking a bandage out to wrap around his beat up arm. "I managed to lure him away from the people, but it got me real bad! He bit me everywhere and…"

"Did you kill him?"

"No… He managed to run away, but I made sure he would get away far from the city…"

"Naruto, do you have any idea of what you've done now? Not killing him and letting him go, will only make him come back. And believe me; he will come back angry and hungrier. Once he tasted your blood, he'll want more of it." Jiraiya said standing up and making his way to the door.

"At least I made sure he was gone for good!"

"Naruto… Your father was exactly the same, but only you're wilder, he was calmer and he did behave… But once you are born like that, it is your nature to hunt and kill… It's the sad truth, but in order to survive, you have to." He saw Naruto close his hands in fists. He knew he was only pushing him, but he knew it was best for him. "Look, just stay here and rest. Don't go to class tomorrow, I'll just call them and excuse you." As he said that he left the room.

At least he would be able to sleep for the rest of the day and the other day as well. The dilemma was going to be hiding all his bruises, but he didn't care.

The pain that was rushing through his body was already gone. He decided to take a shower and perhaps eat something.

Jiraiya on the other hand sat down at his couch still thinking what Naruto had told him.

_It was as if he was being controlled._

The main reason he had moved back into the city with Naruto was so that he could graduate from a great school just like any other normal kid and to protect him and keep him away from the danger of the countryside as well. But he knew that Naruto wasn't normal, his parents weren't. He still remembered the day Naruto's parents died, and the way they did. He had never seen such a cruel death like it was for them. He saw Minato, Naruto's father, as his own son, so he couldn't bear with leaving Naruto by himself. Naruto grew up being an energetic child, always cheerful, pranking people, but also being made fun of since he grew up with no parents and in an orphanage. He had searched for him until he found him in a poor orphanage where the kids were poorly treated. He felt disgusted by the place and he wondered how Naruto had ended up in a place like that. He guessed that since the government where the first to find him, they took him to the first place that they found. Not caring for the child's well being. Even if Jiraiya had taken quite a long time to find Naruto, he managed to adopt him when Naruto was just six years old. He decided that he was going to make sure that Naruto have the life that his parents would want him to have.

But now as he thought about it, the ones who had killed his parents disappeared. The reason he wanted to adopt him was to protect him as well, but thinking about what Naruto had told him about the night before, it worried him to death.

_Is it possible that he came back?_ He thought. Either way, he knew it was time to start his research again.

Naruto laid down still cursing the bastard that had appeared the other night randomly attacking innocent people. Something inside him made his blood boil in anger; he couldn't just stay still and watch, he had to do something. But as soon as the creature spotted him he never thought that it would be so angry and so… animal like. He knew that his kind was considered as monsters in the eyes of a human, but this one did have the killer intentions. Of all his life of fighting with other shifters, he had never encountered one that had nothing else in his mind but to kill. Most of them had other purposes, he knew that they were all hot blooded creatures whom some would kill just for fun. But this one was out to feed on human flesh.

He felt so afraid of this one particular creature that was out to feed on humans. He never thought that by following it, it would end up going inside one of the buildings and killings over fifty people. Eating them in the nastiest way he'd ever seen. He didn't know what to do, sure he had gotten into fights with others, but this one acted just like an animal and he was afraid that it would try to kill him and eat him as well. That is until he saw how the monster had grabbed his classmate Hinata. He suddenly forgot of how scared he was and was filled with utter anger. His blood rushed, and his adrenaline came to his head. Acting fast, he had to do something, he wasn't going to let that creature kill the innocent girl that Hinata was.

_Speaking of which, I wonder how she is…_ He thought. After luring the creature out of the city, he had come back to the building just to make sure they had taken her to a hospital. As soon as he saw that she was taken there, he went fast to his apartment only to collapse on the front door. Now that he was awake, he thought about resting a bit, and then visiting Hinata the next day if it was possible. For some reason, he somehow felt responsible for what had happened to her.

Little did he know that the circumstances where just about to change, and that he was soon going to be a part of something that would mark they're life forever.

Hinata woke up to see that she was alone at the room again. She couldn't recall for how long she had slept, but she knew it felt great. Her wound was still fresh, and beating in pain, but her state of mind was calmer. She thought that maybe Neji had gone to their house to do the errands that her father would always make him do. She felt bad for him, but he knew he was already used to it.

She grabbed one of the magazines that Neji had brought to her, and started reading it. She soon heard her belly rumble and she knew it was the hunger of not eating well since the incident happened. She looked out at the window.

_I wonder how scary it would be for you little fellows to see the kind of monster that attacked me…_ Hinata thought while looking at the bird that was singing on top of the tree branch. She thought about the incident that day again, and as she did she felt a sudden shiver run through her whole body just thinking about it. With the danger she had faced that day, there was no way that she could've survived. But then she thought of the other creature that had saved her, the strange color of its hair and so different of appearance from the other one. She was grateful to it, but it somehow scared her still just thinking of the possibility of dying by the teeth of the other creature.

_They were wolfs… Big, hairy and smelly… _She thought. _I should tell Neji-nissan today, I know he'll believe me…_

Knock. Knock.

"U-Uchiha-san…" Hinata said as she saw the person standing in the door. He walked in without saying a word and stood in front of her bed. Hinata sat up quickly, trying to hide her pj's well under the covers. He cleared his throat and handed out a bouquet of roses.

"Just call me Sasuke…" He said as Hinata carefully took the bouquet of roses.

"T-Thank you… Sasuke-kun…" She said as a slight blush ran through her cheeks, it was the first time she had ever received a gift of roses from a guy.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come here sooner… How are you doing?"

"Much better I guess… The wound still hurts a lot, it's still hard for me to even sit up, but I'll get better." Hinata said. "Y-You can sit there if you want…" She said as she saw that Sasuke was still standing.

"Thanks but I only came here shortly, my brother wants me early at the company today, after the incident there has been a lot of construction being done and he wants me to go and supervise."

"Oh…" And she said that, it was obvious that to the two of them that they remembered the whole incident. It was then that Hinata wanted to ask Sasuke if he still remembered anything from the incident.

"I know what you're thinking," He said getting Hinata's attention. "Look, what happened that night is something that nobody must know… As harsh as it sounds, if the people finds out about this, they won't believe us or they'll just freak out…"

"I know what you mean and I guess it's best to not say anything until they at least do some research…" Hinata then looked at him straight in the eye, making him feel a weird sensation in his chest as he saw the determination she had in her eyes. "What we saw, and what attacked me was real… We have to do something; otherwise other people will become targets as well. Those things were not normal animals, that monster that attacked me probably got away afterwards…"

"Listen Hinata," Sasuke said already getting close to her, she felt a little uneasy feeling him to close to her. He then grabbed her hand. "My brother is already working on it, so you don't have to worry about it. Just keep resting, otherwise you're wound won't heal…" He then left her hand and touched her left cheek. "I promise I'll protect you… As your future husband, it is my duty to protect you. And I look forward to take care of you." With that said he moved his hand away and he separated himself from her. He then turned around and walked towards the door.

"I know this may sound strange to you, and I might scare you… But I look forward to spending more time with you as your fiancé… Take care." After he said that, he opened the door only to see that Neji was already behind the door. Neji stepped aside to let Sasuke walk out, all the time keeping his serious expression. Something about him always made him feel suspicious of him. With a nod from both part of them, Sasuke left.

Hinata felt her cheeks burning red and she let out her breath. She had never before felt a guy so close to her like he did and it only made her feel nervous. She was caught off her thoughts as she heard the door close and looked to see Neji there.

"What a surprise to see him here…" Neji said as he closed the door and turned to see Hinata. "Hinata-sama, how are you feeling today? I brought you some snacks and the maids at our house made you some lunch."

"I'm doing better Neji-nissan, and that's great I can finally eat something." She said feeling relieved that her cousin had brought her some food. Something she will always be grateful for is his kindness for always caring for her. She smiled and happily took the bento Neji had brought her. She rapidly opened it and was soon eating what was inside.

"Thank you so much Neji-nissan!" She said cheerfully. Neji only nodded his head. Seeing his cousin's satisfaction always brought him the best sensation. He raised his eyebrow as he saw the bouquet of roses that were on top of the bed table next to Hinata.

"I am assuming that those belong to Uchiha-san." And as he said that, Hinata couldn't help but get all red.

"Um… Y-Yeah they are… He just gave them to me." She said while eating and looking away trying to hide her blush. They stayed quiet for a long while until Hinata finished eating.

All she could think of was of what she could tell Neji about the other night. She knew that Sasuke had come to warn her about not telling anyone, but it was her cousin and he needed to know. He was the only person that she trusted so much, and she wanted him to know.

"Hinata-sama, are you alright? You seem to be a little bit in thought…" Neji said. She looked at him and sighed as she put the bento next to the table.

"Actually, there is something that you should know…"

"Okay… I am listening."

And that is when she told him everything. From the moment her father introduced her to Sasuke and his brother, she told him about the atmosphere, the people, and how the monster had gotten in and killed almost everyone in the party. Neji kept listening without saying a word to interrupt her.

"I know you might not believe me, but this is what truly happened…" He kept quiet, seeming thoughtful. "And even if you might not believe, no one must know about this yet… It could a thread…"

Neji nodded his head.

"I believe you." He said. "I knew that wound couldn't have been made by just anyone… And this might even explain Ino's state."

"How is she?"

"I talked to Tenten, and she told me Ino seems very much disoriented. She keeps saying things about a creature crawling in the night trying to get her. She's still traumatized by it, and there's no doubt that it was that same monster that attacked you in the party…"

They stayed quiet for a while, after a few minutes they started talking about something else.

For a few days, it went on like that, until Hinata was finally released from the hospital. The first thing that she did was to pay a visit to her friend Ino. When she first entered that room and saw Ino laying there in her bed, she ran to hug her friend; Sakura was there as well. The three sat down to talk, they needed a lot to catch up to, and that is when Ino told them what had happened. While she was walking with the group of friends, they heard a sudden growl; they all looked around to see where it came from. Little did they know that they would all be victims from a terrible monster. Hinata couldn't help but keep her mouth shut thinking about what Sasuke had told her, she knew that the monster was the same one that had attacked Ino. But if she told her, it would only bring memories back to her and she did not want that for her friend. Even when Ino told them, she couldn't stop shaking of the fear.

Since it was only four days that Hinata had spent without going to school, it didn't affect her much. Ino had already gotten released from the hospital, but her father did not want her to go out just yet until she was fully calmed. The atmosphere at the school seemed somehow very gloomy and sad. A lot of the students were still weeping the death of their classmates.

As Hinata was walking toward her locker, she suddenly saw Naruto passing next to her. She had not seen him that morning at the class… Then again, he had not come to school in all those days. He a bandage on his forehead, there was a bruise on the top of his lip, and he seemed to have a bit of a black eye. She had heard rumors about the others that he had gotten into fight, but she didn't believe them. Even though she didn't know him that well, she knew the kind of person he was and she doubted that that would happen.

He did not go back to the music room to listen to her playing the piano. She somehow started feeling lonely again. Even if it was for only a few days, she had gotten used to his company. Her mind wondered off that evening and she didn't realized how late it was already to get back home. It was a good thing she had brought her umbrella that day because it was pouring rain outside. She picked her stuff and left.

On the way home she thought about the things Sasuke had told her, he had told her he was looking forward to spending time with her and he kept his word. Those days he tried to stay by her side, which was weird to both Sakura and Ino. Despite them being her friends, she was still not ready to tell them that she was engaged. She felt bad for not saying anything yet, but she still needed time to get used to it. It's not that she minded Sasuke's company, but it was the weird feeling of having someone she barely knew next to her all the time. Even her cousin Neji would glare at him a few times. It was so unlike Naruto's company, with him, he would joke around and make her laugh. At the last thought she blushed and looked down at the floor as she walked. Those days, she had started watching him from a distance. She noticed he would always sit down to eat outside, alone by himself where no one would bother him. She had thought of sitting next to him to eat, but she thought that maybe he would mind.

For some reason, thinking about him made her chest feel warm and fuzzy. Just the mere thought of him would always make her nervous, but she somehow missed the days when he would sit in the music room with her. At least she had enjoyed those days.

As she was walking by the street, she suddenly heard a noise. When she turned around there was no one to be seen, but the presence of a cat next to a trash can. She smiled to herself for being so silly thinking that there was someone there to harm her.

"Hey there little guy." She said as the feline approached her with its straight black tail. It seemed friendly so she petted him. She felt the urge to take him home with her, but she knew that if she did her father would later get rid of him.

As Hinata was still down on the floor petting the cat, a sudden noise could be heard again, but this time it was near. She stood up and she slowly turned around to see a big shadow standing on the other side next to a building. Since it was so dark, she couldn't see who it was, but it was very far away. She thought that it wasn't a good idea to stay there and decided to walk towards her way home. The shadow then started moving on her direction.

She heard the footsteps, and for some reason she could hear the person breathing heavily, as if it was suffering from some asthma attack. She heard his breathing near her, even though she wasn't looking and decided to walk faster. She heard his footsteps start to get harder. Since she was near a park, she crossed the street to the other side and went another way. As she was getting farther away, Hinata decided to stop just to see if the person was still following her.

He was now running toward her, still breathing heavily.

Hinata's eyes widened in terror as her body started trembling at the site of what was standing now in front of her. It was the same creature that had attacked her the night of the ball. She couldn't quite see how the man suddenly transformed into a wolf like creature since it was so dark, but she was sure that it had been a man before. She couldn't contain herself and let out a scream as the creature pushed her to the other side.

She landed on the floor, and saw that her knees were now bleeding from the landing.

"What are you?!" She yelled at it. The creature smirked and approached her fast.

"Oi, smelly guy!" She heard someone say from the other side of the street and she soon felt a sudden relief of the sight of someone. The creature turned around, letting her see who it was. As soon as she saw Naruto standing there in the middle of the street, her heart immediately froze.

"Get the hell away from her!" He said already making his way toward them.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Her eyes widened in confusion. All she could think was how crazy he was.

He started walking slowly; he then suddenly sprang off, jumped on top of the creature and ripped part of its hair off from its neck, making it scream in pain. "Get away from here Hinata… And do not let anyone know about this!"

She didn't even wince; she stood up immediately and ran off as fast as she could. Once she was as far away as possible, trying to catch her breath, she turned around worried thinking about Naruto.

_Maybe I should've stayed and not let him alone… _

She decided to run back to where Naruto was. As soon as she got there, no one was there but the blood she had spilled from her knees. She wiped her knees, thinking that it would be a problem if she arrived home like that. She thought to herself what had happened? How come Naruto was able to jump that high and on top of the wolf like creature?

She knew she had to go home fast; otherwise she could get in trouble again.

* * *

The other day was just normal. Her usual routine from her way home to school.

That day, she didn't see Naruto… Neither did the other day. The week passed, and there was no sight of him. He was again not going to school for some reason, she felt responsible for what could have happened to him that night so she went to the school's office and asked for his address. She did it as quiet as she could since she knew that if anyone saw her, her cousin would find out and so would Sasuke.

She looked at the piece of paper with Naruto's address. She hid it inside her pocket fast, thinking about visiting him that same day after school.

Even though she barely knew him, that night he had acted as if he knew more about those wolves like creatures than anyone else. She had to ask him directly what they were and what was they're purpose for attacking so many people in the city.

After school, she left as soon as possible without anyone noticing. She didn't even said goodbye to her friends.

Hoping that Neji wouldn't find out, she walked and took the train toward Naruto's apartment.

Naruto didn't live that far at least, but it was a long way. Once she got there, she slowly knocked at the door, feeling shy about it. There was no respond. She thought about leaving, but the door suddenly opened only to see a tall man with white hair standing in front of her.

"Well hello… How may I help you?" He said as he smiled kindly at her.

"Um… Is Naruto-kun here?" His smiled dropped down to a serious yet angry expression, which made her feel nervous.

"He's still not home yet… But as soon as he comes here, I'll let him know you came here miss…"

"H-Hinata… Forgive me for not introducing myself…" She said blushing slightly of embarrassment.

"No need to young lady." He said as he laughed a little. "My name is Jiraiya, you can come in if you want. Do you like tea?"

"Y-Yes, I do…"

"Great! Come on in. Don't leave so fast before drinking some of my tea; I get it shipped all the way from the countryside, freshly brewed leafs!" Hinata nodded and smiled at how sweet and funny Jiraiya was, it made her feel more at ease since she wasn't the type of person that liked meeting new people all the time.

When she walked in, she was astonished at how beautiful the inside of the apartment was. It seemed wide and spacious; surely Jiraiya was his relative, maybe his uncle since he didn't look at all like Naruto.

"You can sit anywhere Hinata, make yourself at home." Jiraiya said as he headed to what she assumed was the kitchen.

She walked around the living a little bit, admiring the design of the room. She stumbled upon a single picture of what seemed to be a small Naruto with two tall persons standing behind him. He was smiling and so where the others.

There was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, his features were very similar to Naruto's. The other one was a woman with long red beautiful hair smiling widely. Naruto was very small in the picture, and he seemed to be holding a toy in one of his hands. Compared to how tall he seemed now, she found him to be rather cute in the picture.

"Those are Naruto's parents…" Jiraiya said making Hinata jump in surprise. She soon sat down blushing again from embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry… I shouldn't have…"

"No need to worry, the picture is there so that everyone sees it. Naruto likes to leave it there." Jiraya said as he put down on the table the tea he had recently made. He served two cups, and gave one to Hinata. They both sat down on the floor quietly as they drank the tea.

"W-Where are his parents now?" Hinata said with a low tone of voice feeling as if she was asking too much.

"They passed away when Naruto was about four or five years old… The poor boy was held in an orphanage, living in bad conditions… Good thing I knew his father, so I took Naruto and adopted him but never gave him my last name. I wanted him to carry his mother's last name for identity purposes…"

"Oh, I-I see…"

There was a sudden silence again between them until Jiraiya broke it.

"So what brings you here that you wanted to see Naruto? Is the boy perhaps bothering you, if he is then I apologize on behalf's of him. You see, he can be an idiot sometimes when he likes someone…"

"Oh no, it's not that!" Hinata said interrupting him as she blushed furiously.

"Oh, alright then…"

"The reason I came here to visit Naruto-kun is to ask him about an incident that happened a couple of days ago…" Hinata said. "I-I don't really want to come into details, but I have so many questions to ask him… He seems to know a lot more..."

"I see…" Jiraiya said. "You know Hinata, there are things in this world that many people are meant not to know… I'm not saying that you shouldn't ask him anything, whatever it is, but… There is danger in this world, and the least you know, the better. I suggest you think well about what you want to ask him about…"

There was a silence again, this time from Hinata's side she couldn't stop feeling embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry… I am very grateful for the tea Jiraiya-sama, but I have to leave now… Please, don't tell Naruto-kun I came here…" She said as she stood up, bowed and made her way to the front door. Surprisingly, it was open. "Thank you so much for everything. It was nice meeting you Jiraiya-sama… I hope to see you again."

"Sure do Hinata, please do come anytime you want! We don't get many visitors here." And with that said, Hinata opened the door and left quickly.

She walked fast towards her way home. She knew she shouldn't have gone there, but she had to even though she was not expecting that Naruto wasn't going to be there. Now she felt worried for what Naruto might think once Jiraya told him she had come over.

Still in Naruto's apartment, Jiraiya was sitting there peacefully drinking his tea. He suddenly heard the door open and some footsteps.

"It's about time you got here… A pretty classmate of yours just left a couple of minutes ago."

Naruto closed the door, turning the lock and taking off his shoes. He was tired from everything that had happened. Jiraiya felt annoyed when Naruto didn't even bother to ask.

"Aren't you going ask? A cute girl comes here asking for you and you don't even care?"

"Who was it?" Naruto said with an angry tone.

"She said her name was Hinata… She said she came here because she had to ask you something."

"W-What…"

"Don't ask me, she's the one who said she needed to ask you, she didn't say what." Jiraiya then stood up and approached him. "By the way, I suggest you rest today and go to school tomorrow. I don't want to keep making up excuses."

Naruto ignored the last thing he said. All he could think about was the girl that had recently visited him. Was it possible that she knew?

* * *

On the first class, Hinata read the assignment that the teacher had given them. The classroom seemed calm, after the tragic loss of several students' lives, the mood in the school seemed to be quite off lately. At least her friend Ino was finally out from the hospital but was ordered to rest at her house for a week. She was planning to visit her that day since, but she knew that she couldn't mention anything about her accident, otherwise Ino would freak out.

The bell rang and everyone quickly left off to a class break. Hinata got her stuff calmly and made her way out. She wondered if Naruto had come to school that day, and if he perhaps knew anything about her having visited him the other day. She suddenly stopped as she saw that Sasuke was waiting for her outside the classroom.

"Hinata, I need to talk to you." She looked at him strangely. She could see his usual serious expression was somehow disturbed for some reason. His aura seemed to be filled with something she wasn't sure, but she knew something was going on. In the days they had been spending together at school, his usual expression was always calm and in a way caring. This time she didn't know what to expect.

She followed him over to a hallway were no one was passing. He suddenly stopped walking and just stood there without turning around.

"Hinata, have you thought about dating any other guy?" He said.

"W-What?" The sudden question caught her by surprise. "I-I have no such thoughts… Is there something wrong?"

"Is there something wrong?" He said as he slowly turned around to look at her. "I believe there is… You were at that idiot's house the other day doing God knows what. And you deny seeing another guy?" Her eyes widened as she remembered the other day when she had visited Naruto's apartment.

"Y-You've got the wrong i-idea… Besides… How did you know I was there?" She said as she started to get scared and walk backwards until she felt the cold wall behind her back.

"It doesn't matter how I found out, just tell me is there anything going on between the two of you?!." He said as he started getting close to her.

"N-No!" She said as she felt herself trembling. She saw him sighing and passing his hand through his hair, messing it.

"Hinata… The moment they told I was to be engaged with you, at first I was furious, but then I started looking at you more… I decided I wanted to protect you and take care of you. I decided that you were mine. And when I declare that something is mine, I don't like it when there is a distraction trying to take it away from me… So I suggest you stay away from him. He's trouble and I don't want him to hurt you…"

"What? What are you even saying?" Hinata then felt her cheeks hot. "Do you even know anything about him? How can you say such a thing about someone you don't even know?"

Sasuke chuckled a little bit, making her get angry.

"My dear, you're the one who doesn't know… But it doesn't matter whether I know him or not, what matters is that you will do as I say and not approach him at all."

"E-Excuse me? But as far as I know, we're not even engaged yet…" She said trying to sound fierce, even though she knew it wasn't going to intimidate him. "The only person who orders me and whom I listen to is my father… As far as I know you're not him."

Sasuke then grabbed both of her hands and pinned her to the wall. Each hand being held roughly by him on each side.

"But we will sooner or later… Our families are meant to be, our blood is meant to be combined." He said getting his face closer to hers, making her look down trying to avoid his gaze. "Hinata, I don't mean to scare you nor hurt you, but I worry too… I know things that no one should know, and this world is very fucked up. I don't want you to get hurt."

"And what does Naruto-kun have to do with this?" She said. "I- I don't understand…"

"And it's best if you don't." Sasuke said still holding her hands to the wall. "Hinata, please listen to me, do not get close to him just stay away from him. I care about you, and I don't know what I would do if something happened."

"Sasuke-kun, you're hurting me…" She said referring to the pain she felt on both her wrists. She never knew he could be so rough. "P-Please, let me go… I want to go…"

"No." He said firmly. "You will listen to me."

"We're at the school, a public place… Please let me go, I'm not comfortable and I need to get to class."

"There's still ten minutes left." Sasuke said. "Just look at me and listen Hinata."

She did as he said, just to see if he would let go of her, but then she saw him lean closer to her face. She then tried moving but couldn't as she felt defenseless.

"Please Sasuke-kun, let me go!" She said this time more loudly. A sudden force made Sasuke move away from her and was soon grabbed by the collar of his shirt.

Hinata couldn't believe it as Naruto was standing in front of her, protecting her from Sasuke.

* * *

Chapter 4 will be posted as soon as I am finished with this hell week. Please do review!


	4. Chapter 4: Fears & Concerns

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters of the Naruto series, this is just a work of fiction and imagination.

I am baack! I've been so caught up with things that I was forgetting the story T.T This chapter was already written since two months ago, all I had to do was just edit it! But nonetheless, I will try to upload as soon as I can from now on. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Fears &amp; Concerns**

"You bastard, she told you to leave her alone and yet you force yourself on her." Naruto said as he looked at him. Sasuke then got back in position, pushed Naruto and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt roughly getting him closer to his face.

"This is none of your business" Sasuke said still holding him tightly. "Stay out of this."

"For a pretty boy like you, you sure treat girls like shit. She said to let go of her and yet you do whatever you want... I despise people like you."

"I said this is none of your business!" Sasuke said yelling this time and letting go of his grip. "If you don't want to get in a fight, then I suggest you get away from here as soon as possible… Although I bet that's the only thing you're good at…" He said the last thing with a low voice, but Naruto was able to hear it.

Naruto then smirked.

"You're right; it's the only thing I'm good at. So, if you don't promise me you'll leave her alone, I will fight you here and it'll only ruin your reputation **Sasuke**."

"Hey! What is going on here?" A sudden voice was heard at the end of the hall. "Naruto, don't tell me you're trying to pick a fight."

When Naruto looked at him, he already knew that it was Iruka's voice, even though he knew he did not struggle to step away.

"No sir," Sasuke said suddenly. "We were only discussing something and Naruto wouldn't agree… that's all."

"Hmm... I thought so, I'm sure Naruto wouldn't like to spend a whole other month cleaning my classroom as detention, and as for you Uchiha-san, I expect great behavior from your part." Iruka then saw Hinata standing at the corner; she managed to relax her posture since she got stiff from the earlier scene.

"Well then, have a good day." He then nodded at Hinata and kept walking towards his classroom.

There was a moment of silence, mainly Naruto glaring at Sasuke as he still stood in front of Hinata protectively.

"There's no point in fighting here… I'll be leaving then." Naruto moved to block Sasuke from seeing Hinata since he saw that he intended to get close to her.

"Hinata, remember what I said." And with that said Sasuke left Naruto and Hinata alone in the hall.

"Phew…" Naruto said as he wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"T-Thank you… Naruto-kun." Hinata said in a low voice still feeling rather nervous after the whole situation. Naruto then turned around to smile at her. "This is the second time you help me… I wish there was any way I could repay you…"

"There's no need to." Naruto said still smiling. She too smiled at him but shifted her eyes away from his, there was something about the way he smiled that made her heart skip a beat. "By the way, what did he want anyways?"

Hinata then looked down at the floor with a sad expression, thinking about how badly she wanted that engagement to get canceled.

"It's personal… I'm sorry but I can't say yet…" She said still looking at the floor. Naruto shifted his head a little bit confused but nodded. Normally he would just start asking questions and annoy the person, but this wasn't the kind of situation for him to do so.

"I see, maybe another time… Say, ero-sennin told me you came by the other day."

It was then that Hinata's cheeks flushed in red from the embarrassment.

"Ah… Well, you see… I-I just wanted to talk to you about what happened that night…" Naruto's expression then changed.

"What about it?"

"Well you see… Um, I don't think this is the right place to talk about it but… I have so many questions and I just thought that maybe you could be the one to help me out…"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I cannot."

"What?" She said a little surprised that he would respond to her like that.

"It's not something I think I can help you with. I'm sorry." He said, trying to avoid as much as he could the topic.

"O-Oh… I see…" She then bowed a little and then looked at him before leaving. "Thank you so much again."

"Wait," Naruto said. "Will you still play the piano today?"

She smiled a little and looked at him; they're eyes locking in each other's.

"Not today, I'm going to a friend's house... But I will tomorrow!"

"Then I look forward to it." Naruto said with a big grin.

And with that said he walked away, all the while Hinata couldn't help but feel a weird sensation after seeing him grin. She still kept looking at his back as he walked away.

A man with glasses and white hair had seen the whole thing and couldn't stop smiling.

_I see… No wonder he wanted me to keep an eye on them._ He thought. _Master will like this a lot._

The rest of the day went on smoothly. Thankfully Hinata managed to avoid seeing Sasuke; Sakura of course did sense that her friend was acting strange that day. She had noticed Hinata had been acting strange lately ever since she got out of the hospital. She even saw Hinata's expression change when Sasuke would pass beside them.

After a long day of school, Hinata and Sakura were making their way to Ino's house.

During the whole walk, Sakura kept thinking about Hinata's behavior lately. Worried for her friend, she had been having a weird sensation that Hinata was going through something besides the recent accident she had gone through. Luckily she wasn't the type to butt into people's business unlike Ino, but sometimes she wished she had the gut to ask so many questions. She knew that it was rare for Hinata to open up about her situations, but something in her gaze seemed awfully wrong.

"Say Sakura-san… Can I ask you something?" Hinata suddenly said.

"Sure!"

"You like Sasuke-kun don't you? How long have you been in love with him?" She said.

As they were still walking, Hinata saw Sakura look up in the sky. It was weird the face she had made, Hinata thought.

"I'm surprised you asked me that." Sakura said.

"Y-You don't have to answer if you don't want to!" Hinata said nervously making Sakura giggle.

"It's okay Hinata… Well you see, I never really thought of it as 'love' but now that you mention it I guess I have loved him ever since little…" Sakura said still smiling while blushing at the same time.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I guess I never told you, but he and I used to be childhood friends." She said while giggling a little bit. "We used to play at the same park when little, he would always arrive accompanied by his mom and so would I. You could say they knew each other in a way.

But one day he stopped coming over. A couple of months later we found out that his parents had been murdered. My mom and I went to their funeral… After that, Sasuke-kun changed completely. He was no longer the happy child he was.

I was so happy the first time I saw him come to our school; I'd thought I would never get to see him ever again. But I guess he doesn't remember me since he barely talks to me. I've tried to talk to him but he's too serious… Hell he even said I was annoying once..." Sakura chuckled as she said the last thing. "But I guess that even though he might not remember me, I didn't think these feelings would return and come so strong…"

They were silent for a moment. Hinata had gotten deep in thought, she knew she needed to tell Sakura about her current situation, but she never thought that Sakura's feelings for Sasuke were so serious.

"Why do you ask Hinata?" Sakura said. "Could it be that… You're in love with someone?"

"What? No!" Hinata said nervously already her cheeks bright red.

"Hmm… It just seems so off for you to ask me that, normally Ino is the one to tease me with that kind of subject." Sakura then smiled at her. "Then again, I'm glad you asked, I feel like I just got a big pressure off my chest."

Hinata smiled back at her and then looked down. The uneasiness could be felt all over her shoulders already. She hadn't noticed that they were already in front of Ino's house until Sakura grabbed her shirt before she went off walking without looking.

"Hinata are you sure you're okay? You seem a little off lately…" Sakura said. Hinata couldn't even look at her friend straight in the eyes of how ashamed she felt.

"I'm fine." She lied showing a fake smile.

"If you say so…"

"You guys I'm so glad you came by!" They suddenly heard. Ino was standing at the front door smiling widely at them. They smiled back at her; somehow Ino's cheerful expression was contagious for them. "Come in quick, my parents aren't at home which means we can pig out almost everything that's in the kitchen!"

They both giggled a little and went inside. They soon got comfortable at Ino's room while Ino brought them some popcorn and the other snacks.

"Geez Ino it seems as if you haven't eaten in days, you keep bringing all these snacks and most of them are for you."

"My mom won't let me eat what I want. She thinks that if I eat all this junk food I won't fully recover." She said as she shoved a bunch of popcorn in her mouth. "You should try to eat some more Sakura, maybe your chest will grow as big as Hinata's."

Ino smiled as she sensed Sakura's killing intent from the other side of the room.

"Well she has a point you know…" Hinata said trying to block Sakura from hitting Ino in that moment. "You need to eat well since you lost a lot of weight at the hospital Ino-san."

"Nah quit blabbering that, I'll get my shape back in no time." Ino said before getting another mouthful of popcorn. "Now let's talk about other things… I know, Hinata a little birdie told me that you were spending a lot of time with a certain someone inside the music room…" Ino said winking at her.

"W-What?"

"Oh come on you don't have to hide those things from us, I mean I've been so open with my sexuality with the two of you, there's no need to hide the fact that you-"

"Ino please!" Sakura said interrupting her; meanwhile Hinata was trying to hide her red face with both of her hands. "I'm sure Hinata has her reason… But I also want to know all the details Hinata."

Hinata couldn't help but feel a little dizzy from the embarrassment as both of her friends watched her intensely.

"You don't have to be so shy about it Hinata… It's normal to do those things, but I'm surprised you're doing it in a classroom especially at OUR school." Ino said wiggling her eyebrows.

"N-No you're misunderstanding!" Hinata said with embarrassment. "Naruto-kun and I are just friends-"

"Oh so it is that new guy! I never thought you'd be so naughty Hina." Ino said as she winked at her again.

"Ino pig just let her finish!" Sakura said. "The poor girl can barely speak if you keep teasing her."

"Oh come on, this is interesting."

"Guys, you're misunderstanding… Naruto-kun and I are just friends; h-he comes by almost every day to listen to me playing the piano…"

Both Sakura and Ino blinked at her.

"That's it? No juicy details like banging over the walls?"

"Ino!"

"What? I used to be innocent as well… Anyways Hinata, why didn't you tell us you've been hanging out with the new guy? He sure seems pretty interesting; I never thought you'd go for the 'rebellious' type of guy."

"I-It's not like that… He just happened to walk by the classroom and heard me singing, ever since then he always keeps me company when I play the piano… B-Besides, who told you that?"

"Oh, I may not be at school but I still have my 'connections'." She winked at Hinata. "Nah they just told me that they saw him walking in and then they saw that you were in there so they assumed that you guys had a thing."

"Now now Hinata just calm down, it's just rumors." Sakura said while patting Hinata's head as she was hiding her face under Ino's pillows. "Although when you think about it deeply, you guys would make a cute couple… Even though I haven't really seen you guys exchange any words. But I am curious about something, has he said anything else? I mean, why does he enjoy listening to you play so much?"

Hinata then remembered the words he had said back then before falling asleep while still listening.

"It makes him feel completely attached to 'humanity'."

"That guy is just so weird." Ino said feeling uninterested. "Might as well and dump him Hina."

"W-Wait, let me finish… Besides that, he says it makes him feel at ease with everyone… I know it sounds weird but it seems he has a lot going on I guess." She quickly said as her two friends stared at her strangely.

"You should ask him out one of these days Hinata, he may have his eyes on you… or…" Ino then looked at Sakura."I got my eyes on you big forehead; they told me that he has also been checking you out as well."

"What?! I'll go cut off his head."

"Calm down, it's just rumors." Ino said shoving another bunch of popcorn. "I may be the queen of gossip but it's just what they told me… By the way, is it true that another cute guy entered our school?"

"Oh you mean Sai-kun?" Hinata said.

"You know him? Oh please introduce him to me!"

"Hey yeah, you've been getting quite friendly recently with others you didn't used to talk to." Sakura then said looking at her. "One thing is that I even saw Sasuke walking by your side and actually talking to you."

"Jealous?" Ino said grinning.

"N-No way." Sakura said while looking away. "I'm just saying…"

Hinata then gulped down the bunch of popcorn she was eating. She didn't know what to say.

"Anyways, when I get back I want to meet that 'Sai'." Ino said and then she changed the topic to another thing. Hinata felt a sudden relief, she had felt so uncomfortable when Sakura mentioned about her and Sasuke. Just the thought of him made her feel uneasy, she knew he wasn't a bad person, but the more she avoided him the best it was for her.

Falling in love was not on her mind. Yes she did have a crush on a guy before but that was just it. No guy ever asked her out nor confessed to her so she decided it was best that way. There was only one person whom she had fallen in love with once when she was a child, but that had been so long ago that she barely remembered his name. The only thing she remembered was how incredibly happy he would make her feel since at that time she was going through her mother's passing. But once she left the place where they used to play, she never saw him again.

But what was bothering her wasn't the fact about dating someone; it was of Sakura's feelings towards Sasuke. Something inside of her kept telling her to tell Sakura the truth in that same moment even if it was in front of Ino as well. She trusted them, and she knew that if she told them and explained the whole situation they would learn to understand her. Yet, she hated herself for being so stubborn and for wanting to keep it a secret for a little more. Something inside of her doubted that they would understand.

It was already around six when Hinata and Sakura left Ino's house, they decided to leave early since they both had a long way to their homes, plus Hinata couldn't make her father angry. It was a miracle that there was still no missed call from her father or from Neji.

"Well this is where I say goodbye," Sakura said as she walked slowly. "I'll see you tomorrow Hinata, take care!"

"Take care Sakura-san." Hinata said smiling back at her as she saw her friend drift off to another way. She sighed.

_Such a long way home… _She sighed.

Her house wasn't so far away, but due to the strange things that were going on around the city lately, her house seemed miles away.

She sighed again but then regained her posture. She had to get home safe so she decided to take the safest route even if it was a lot farther. All she had to do was to take the train, after that she was fine. The hardest part for her would be passing the street that had a ton of bars that were open at that time of the day but given the fact that that was the only other way around she knew about she kept on walking.

"Whoa there cute girl" Some guy said as he whistled at her as she passed by the local. She frowned a little as she looked down and walked by faster.

_Just hold on a bit more Hinata and you'll get home in no time. _She was then interrupted from her thoughts as she almost bumped against a tall man with dark long hair. She quickly recognized him as Itachi Uchiha.

"Uchiha-san?" His name came out of her mouth without her noticing making him turn around at the mention of his name.

"Oh? Hinata, is that you?" The oldest Uchiha said as he approached her with a big smile. "I'm so glad to see you… What are you doing here anyway? You don't seem like the type to hang around this place."

"O-Oh… Actually I was on my way home…"

"I see… Well I'll take you to your house!" Itachi said still smiling gently. "How strange though, I thought I'd see you with Sasuke."

"Well you see…"

"He did something didn't he?" Hinata stayed quiet for a moment not wanting to say anything out of place, she didn't want to get Sasuke in trouble especially with his own brother. "You can tell me all about it on the way, let's go!"

"But wait… Weren't you with someone?" She said as she looked back at the place he had walked out of. Inside she could still see a woman sitting as she sipped a glass of what seemed like wine.

"Oh don't mind me, I was just meeting up with someone, it wasn't important so I just decided to leave quickly." Itachi said while still smiling, he gently grabbed her hand as he guided her to the limousine that was waiting at the end of the street. She wondered how long he had been inside that bar with the woman.

Inside the car, Hinata proceeded to tell Itachi about what had happened between her and Sasuke. Of course she excluded the part were Naruto came in.

"I see… that little brother of mine sure is silly…" He said while smirking. "Listen Hinata, we Uchihas tend to be possessive over the things that belong to us… Don't think that I'm warning you or anything, it's just something that's always been in our blood." He paused a moment to look outside. "This family comes from a long way, always fighting for what we want and trying to obtain it… I guess I can be considered as possessive with my things as well, but I've never seen such a greedy person like Sasuke. He seems to want to surpass me in everything since my father never acknowledged him even after his death… I was always his favorite.

The only person whom Sasuke did have the affection of was from my late mother… Such a kind woman like her never had a favorite son, but my father never thought of it like that since I am the eldest and Sasuke is the youngest so there has always been this difference according to him. I guess Sasuke can be a little difficult to understand, but he's not a bad person at all once you get to know him… He cares about you; it's very clear in his eyes whenever your name is mentioned." Hinata looked down, blushing a little.

"Don't think that he's obsessed with you! I mean, I really don't know since he barely talks about his feelings and I'm always at work but… I know his heart, and I know that ever since the engagement was mentioned he's been somehow happy about it even if he doesn't show it… In his own way… I know what you are feeling right now, the feeling of angst and of not having a say in this whole situation… It's difficult for a girl, but imagine how Sasuke felt at the beginning when it was decided by the elders of the family. But I still think that you two will make a beautiful couple, you two will be one of the most powerful couples in the business industry…"

They kept quiet after they're small conversation. Even if she didn't say it, she felt grateful for Itachi's words of encouragement and for some reason, Hinata didn't feel the sudden uneasiness near him; something about the eldest Uchiha made her feel at ease and calm. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the silence until the car suddenly stopped at the front of her house.

"Well, looks like we're here." Itachi said.

"Thank you so much for giving me a ride home Itachi-san." Hinata said as she bowed at him. She had indeed enjoyed the conversation with him and the little time of peace.

"Just call me Itachi-nii-san; after all we are going to be family soon." He winked at her making her face get all red. "It was fun so no need to thank me, let's do this again some other day."

"Y-Yes!" Itachi smiled and then closed the window. The engine then left leaving Hinata alone at the front of her house.

She looked up to her immense home, so big yet so lonely and so cold. Maybe that's how Sasuke felt towards his home as well; especially by never being acknowledged by his father. She knew how tough it was since her father didn't acknowledge her as well saying that he didn't believe that she would become a woman of business or being worthy as the Hyūga heiress. If it wasn't because of her cousin and her little sister, she would've been just like Sasuke, lonely and arrogant. Deep down Sasuke was lonely, having grown up in a family were everything is based in morals, business, money and discipline. She understood how he felt since her family was as strict as his. But there was something else that he was seeking, something that Hinata wasn't sure she was able of giving to him. Something special called love, something she was afraid of feeling for someone since her mother's death.

She shook all the thoughts away and walked inside her house, ignoring the fact that the same man with white hair was also there looking at her, hiding behind a nearby tree protecting his identity.

Her home was lonely as usual, only the housekeeper greeted her. She looked upstairs and it seemed as though either everyone was asleep, out or just each in their own world; especially her father.

"Hinata-sama, your father is waiting for you at his office." Said the housekeeper, Hinata nodded and proceeded to go, she guessed her father was mad at her for having come home late.

"Hinata, sit." Hiashi said as soon as he saw Hinata entering his office.

"H-Hello father…" She said as she sat down quietly.

"Where were you?" He asked quickly. "I understand you were at your friend's house, but what took you so long?"

"I came across Itachi-san on the way here… He offered to give me a ride back home." He seemed thoughtful for a bit.

"Alright," Hiashi then shifted his eyes on hers, he didn't seem happy at all. "Here take this," He gave her a card, she saw that the card was unusually elegant looking. "I assume that you've been getting really close with Sasuke right? I was talking with Itachi the other day and we were talking about your engagement party, go ahead and open the card I gave you."

She looked at the envelope, white but well decorated around. She opened it slowly, tracing all the while and the beautiful decorations that it had around. In the middle there was a small message and so she read it. The first thing that she read was of her name next to Sasuke's, she looked up to her father in disbelief.

"Inside you'll read your engagement party's date, please do not make any plans or so... I know things have been quite dangerous in the streets right now, but this is something that we must do as soon as possible since your birthday is on the way."

"Father, my birthday is still-"

"I know there's still a lot of time left for your birthday, but by the time you turn eighteen you must already be engaged."

She nodded but didn't look at him. Hiashi sighed.

"I know this may be hard, but you must understand your duty as a Hyuga, as my eldest daughter, as a future woman of business… You need a man on the same level as you, someone who comes from a powerful family, someone who'll care for you and your business." He looked down to all the papers he had on his desk. "Now, this is all I wanted to talk about… You may leave now."

She nodded and said nothing else but silently moved herself away from his office. That night, Hinata got only a few hours of sleep.

* * *

"Morning Hinata-" Naruto was cut off by an angry Sakura.

"Will you lower your voice?" She said as she glared at him and then looked at Hinata who was resting her head on her desk.

"She's still asleep?" He got closer to Hinata.

"It seems like she didn't get enough sleep last night… This is so unlike her." Ino said.

Naruto stared at her and wondered what could've happened to her. Even though he didn't know her that well, she wasn't the kind to fall asleep during any time of the day; not even during class. He had woke her up during Iruka's class before the said teacher even attempted to embarrass her the same way he did to him. He remembered her flushed cheeks as she looked down embarrassingly during the whole lecture. Now, as they were on their lunch break, he had decided to come back to the classroom to see if she wanted to have lunch with him. He didn't expect her to be asleep again; then again she had been falling asleep frequently those last few days.

"Hey yo!" Kiba said barging into the classroom with Shino right behind him. He entered the room full of energy but soon stopped as he saw everyone looking at him. "What's wrong?"

"Hey idiot, in case you haven't noticed, Hinata's asleep." Naruto said glaring at him. Kiba glared back at him and looked at the said girl sleeping.

"She's sleeping again?" He said as he approached her.

"Yeah, earlier today Iruka-sensei almost scolded her if it wasn't for Naruto waking her up." Sakura said. "I wonder what's bothering her, she's been acting strange lately and I know that there's something going on for her to be this way…"

Kiba looked down to his feet.

_If only they knew _He thought.

"Well then, let's wake her up." Kiba said, before he could place his hand on her shoulders, Naruto stopped him.

"I'll do it." Naruto got next to Hinata and placed his hand on one of her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Hinata, wake up."

Her pale skin was glowing under the rays of sun that came into the room, and he noticed how soft her skin looked.

"Mm…" She mumbled out.

"Come on wake up, there are people here surrounding you." But it did not work since she was still deeply asleep.

"Here let me try," Kiba said as he stepped in front of Naruto arrogantly. He cleared his throat and whispered something into one of Hinata's ears.

Her eyes opened wide in scare, she sat up straight in the chair and looked around. Her face immediately got red.

"O-Oh dear…" She covered her red face. "I didn't mean to fall asleep again…"

"Its okay, it's still lunch break so you haven't missed much." Sakura said as she patted her hair, she soon stopped as she saw Sasuke looking at them from the corner of the door and leaving quickly.

_What was he doing?_ Sakura thought.

"Well the important thing is that she doesn't fall asleep again or she'll miss out the rest of her classes." Ino said while standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet up with Sai." She said with hearts in both of her eyes.

They all sighed as they saw her drift off the classroom.

"I sure hope this time she doesn't get heartbroken…" Sakura said to herself.

"I hear Sai has no interest in anyone but only his drawings… I guess Ino is really going to try it this time." Shino said. "It'll be hard at first but I'm sure she-"

"Hey Hinata," Kiba said interrupting Shino, said guy glared at him. "You've been sleeping a lot these days, not only that but you've been acting strange, is there something bothering you"

Hinata shook her head sideways.

"I'm fine Kiba-kun, r-really." She said nervously while looking down. In that moment the bell rang.

"Well, I'm off. See ya later Hinata." Kiba said as he left the room followed by Shino.

"I have to go too; Art class is waiting for me." Sakura said as she soon left the classroom.

Then again, Naruto and Hinata were left alone.

"Seriously though, you seem a little bit strange…" Naruto said looking at her meeting with her gaze. "I know that it's none of my business, but does it have to do with Sasuke again?"

She didn't respond to him, she kept quiet afraid of telling him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He said while scratching the back of his head. "Anyways, I'll see you later!" And with that said he drifted away from the classroom.

During the passing of the week, Hinata continued playing the piano as Naruto still came by to listen to her since he would always say that her music made him feel at ease always and forget about his problems. That made her feel really happy somehow, she had never had someone besides her sister complement on her talent. She had even started to tutor him since he wasn't doing very well at certain classes, all the time spending time together.

It wasn't until then that she realized she liked him. Having developed feelings for him that truly made her realize all the more how much she didn't want the engagement with Sasuke to happen.

But then, one morning when she arrived to school she noticed that everyone was staring at her. Even the people she barely even spoke to were watching her walk along the hall. That is until she entered her classroom that all her classmates turned to look at her. She lowered her head and walked slowly to sit down were both her friends were.

"Good morning… What's wrong with the atmosphere here?" She said.

"When were you planning on telling me Hinata?" She heard Sakura say, and when she saw her face she was petrified.

"S-Sakura-san what's wrong?"

"How… How could you not tell us about it Hinata?" Sakura said almost yelling at her, tears falling all the way.

"Wha… What happened?" Hinata said clueless as to what she was saying.

"This is what happened…" Ino said as she handed her the newspaper of that day. When she read the title she felt her heart sink a bit.

**Eldest Hyuga daughter to be engaged to the youngest of the Uchiha brothers.**

She saw at picture of herself next to Sasuke's, probably taken during the party at the Uchiha's company before she got attacked.

"S-Sakura-san, I'm so sorry… I was planning on telling you, I didn't want you to find out this way…"

"It doesn't matter anymore Hinata," Sakura said as she hiccupped a bit. "I trusted you, I told you how I felt and then I find out this…" She couldn't finish due to the pain she felt in her chest.

"Sakura… I-"

"Come on Sakura, calm down… Let's go to the bathroom to wash your face." Ino said as she grabbed her arm. She then looked at Hinata, her face showing nothing but disappointment in her. "I'm sorry Hinata, but let's talk later… Class is about to start."

"But…" She was cut off by Iruka's sudden appearance. He had on a depressed expression and quickly shut the whole classroom by announcing another student's death the night before.

Once she was at her seat, she did everything on her will to not let the tears fall during the lecture. She looked next to her, to see if Naruto was there but he wasn't. He was the only person in that moment that could only make her calm down by just looking at his smile. Fortunately Sasuke was absent that day, but she had spent her whole day at school by herself. Kiba had tried to talk to her but once he did she broke down in tears. Luckily Neji had come by and helped her calm down.

It was hell for her once she had come home. She immediately went to her room, shut her door and just lay on her bed crying. She couldn't stop feeling guilty over what had happened, of how she should have told Sakura beforehand. Even Ino avoided her that day, but the worst part was how she could hear everyone whisper things about her as she walked along the hallways. Her biggest concerns had turned into what was now a living hell for her all the more making her hate her father for creating such chaos in her life.

* * *

I had a hard time trying to think of new ideas but I now have thought of many things. I also had fun writing this chapter!

Now, this is only the beginning for Hinata's dilemmas, there are more to come! Look forward for the next chapter, things are about to get even more interesting!

I also wrote a spanish one chapter fic based on NH family, I am just in love with that family U.U


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